*Ø* Blogmanac | Blair chaired meeting that led to unmasking of Kelly

Richard Norton-Taylor, The Guardian
October 14

"The key policy decisions which led to the unmasking of David Kelly, the Iraqi weapons expert, were taken at a Downing Street meeting chaired by Tony Blair, the top civil servant at the Ministry of Defence disclosed yesterday.

"Sir Kevin Tebbit told the Hutton inquiry that decisions were taken at the No 10 meeting both to issue an MoD press statement giving details of Dr Kelly and to confirm his identity if journalists put his name to ministry officials ...

"After Dr Kelly's apparent suicide on July 17, Mr Blair said he played no part in the naming of the government scientist. He told the inquiry in August that the government had to reveal the fact that someone had come forward admitting having spoken to the BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan about the Iraqi weapons dossier ...

"On the final day of the inquiry's hearings, Lord Hutton made clear that he may take longer to deliver his report than previously thought, perhaps even after the new year."

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