Government “sitting on a ticking bomb” over Kelly revelations
The Ministry of Defence’s top civil servant told the Hutton Inquiry today that the Government felt they were “sitting on… a ticking bomb” after Dr David Kelly admitted meeting with BBC defence correspondent Andrew Gilligan.
The Hutton Inquiry reconvened for one day in order for Sir Kevin Tebbitt, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, to give evidence for a second time.
The original evidence session last month was rescheduled after Sir Kevin had to undergo eye surgery in hospital.
He told the inquiry into the apparent suicide of the MoD scientist that, following interviews with Dr Kelly in July, the Government remained uncertain about whether he was the main source of Mr Gilligan’s report claiming the Iraq dossier had been “sexed up”.
Sir Kevin said that the MoD head of personnel Richard Hatfield had decided the weapons expert should be admonished rather than punished, because he had come forward voluntarily.
He insisted that there had been no choice for the ministry but to announce that an official had come forward and later to confirm Dr Kelly’s name when it was put forward by journalists.
The Ministry of Defence official stated that there was a discrepancy between what Mr Gilligan said his source had said, and what Dr Kelly claimed to have told the reporter.
“We believed that an employee of 20 years standing, a man of considerable eminence, when his words were weighed against the views of Mr Gilligan – with whom we had recently had difficulties – as part of our duty of care, we retained trust and confidence in our employee,” he added.
Sir Kevin went on, “Had he [David Kelly] really said that Alastair Campbell and the government had intervened in the intelligence judgements… then that would have been a very grave charge indeed.”
He said there had been no reason to believe Dr Kelly was under “intolerable pressure”.
He claimed that the arms expert had been taken through a statement announcing that an official had come forward “paragraph by paragraph, and had no difficulty with it”.
Questioned by the Kelly family barrister Jeremy Gompertz QC, Sir Kevin insisted that Dr Kelly had agreed his name would come out and that he expected it to happen.
The inquiry will officially adjourn after Sir Kevin has finished giving evidence. Lord Hutton’s report on the inquiry is expected by December.
