*Ø* Blogmanac | Gilligan points finger at UK government
Andrew Gilligan has dropped a series of bombshells at the Hutton inquiry - including a claim that drags Alastair Campbell back to the centre of the affair. In direct contradiction to evidence given yesterday, Gilligan made the dramatic claim that Ministry of Defence scientist David Kelly had said Alastair Campbell asked if anything else could go in to the September dossier because the real information in the original dossier was unusable and dull.
Dr Kelly also told Gilligan that most of the claims in the dossier were double-sourced, but that the '45 minute' claim was based on a single source. Gilligan asked Dr Kelly: "Did Campbell make it up?" To which Dr Kelly replied: "No. It was real information, but it was included in the dossier against our wishes." That is the line which Gilligan put in his report on the 'Today' programme, and that Mr Campbell has strenuously denied. But it has appeared for the first time today in written form as Gilligan's notes were shown to the court.
As the BBC reporter continued to give evidence on the second day of the inquiry, he revealed a torrent of hitherto unknown information on the affair.
Gilligan revealed he had contacted two senior government sources about the story Kelly gave him and they did not deny the story that the weapons dossier had been "sexed up". This is contrary to Alastair Campbell's furious claim that Gilligan had not put his story to the government for confirmation or denial. It is not yet known if the two sources are ministers or Whitehall officials, but if Gilligan names them, they may well find themselves called in front of Lord Hutton to explain their position.
Gilligan also told the inquiry that he had spoken to a MoD press officer for over seven minutes about his story before it was broadcast.
Full text at the Guardian
Hutton Inquiry website
Andrew Gilligan has dropped a series of bombshells at the Hutton inquiry - including a claim that drags Alastair Campbell back to the centre of the affair. In direct contradiction to evidence given yesterday, Gilligan made the dramatic claim that Ministry of Defence scientist David Kelly had said Alastair Campbell asked if anything else could go in to the September dossier because the real information in the original dossier was unusable and dull.
Dr Kelly also told Gilligan that most of the claims in the dossier were double-sourced, but that the '45 minute' claim was based on a single source. Gilligan asked Dr Kelly: "Did Campbell make it up?" To which Dr Kelly replied: "No. It was real information, but it was included in the dossier against our wishes." That is the line which Gilligan put in his report on the 'Today' programme, and that Mr Campbell has strenuously denied. But it has appeared for the first time today in written form as Gilligan's notes were shown to the court.
As the BBC reporter continued to give evidence on the second day of the inquiry, he revealed a torrent of hitherto unknown information on the affair.
Gilligan revealed he had contacted two senior government sources about the story Kelly gave him and they did not deny the story that the weapons dossier had been "sexed up". This is contrary to Alastair Campbell's furious claim that Gilligan had not put his story to the government for confirmation or denial. It is not yet known if the two sources are ministers or Whitehall officials, but if Gilligan names them, they may well find themselves called in front of Lord Hutton to explain their position.
Gilligan also told the inquiry that he had spoken to a MoD press officer for over seven minutes about his story before it was broadcast.
Full text at the Guardian
Hutton Inquiry website
Nora posted item above at 11:40 PM | Permalink
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