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Spy chief: No tension over dossier
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Top British intelligence official John Scarlett has denied that tension existed between his office and the government over a dossier that was to outline the case for war against Iraq. The former M16 member told the Hutton Inquiry Tuesday that he had overall control over the September dossier published in 2002. Scarlett is making his second appearance before the inquiry which is looking into the events leading up to the apparent suicide of government scientist and weapons expert David Kelly. He said any changes to the document were carried out to include "new and recent intelligence." And he added, members of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), which he heads, had been consulted over changes. Scarlett said he expected Prime Minister Tony Blair's senior staff to have offered advice on a range of presentational points as this was an unusual project which was being prepared for the public domain. Blair's outgoing director of communications Alastair Campbell sent 16 changes in a memo dated September 17, followed by a further three e-mails between September 18 and 19. The dossier was published on September 20. Changes included last-minute technical issues such as Iraq's willingness to allow U.N. inspectors into the country. Another change was the wording of the claim that Iraq could use weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes of an order to do so. Scarlett said there was a clear discrepancy between the phrasing in the document's summary and main text which was cleared up -- independent of Campbell's memo on this issue. (Full Story) The intelligence official is expected to be asked about discrepancies in earlier comments that he was unaware of unhappiness in the intelligence services over the September document and statements made by some of his staff that disquiet existed. Kelly became embroiled in a battle between the BBC and the government after he was exposed as the source of an Andrew Gilligan report claiming Campbell had "sexed up" claims about Iraq's weapons programs to promote its case for war.
Also appearing Tuesday were two of Blair's official spokesmen, including Tom Kelly who dubbed David Kelly a "Walter Mitty" character after the fanciful film character during a conversation with a reporter. Tom Kelly said Tuesday he "genuinely wanted to protect Dr. Kelly's identity" when he fielded journalists' questions. "I tried to give away as little information as possible. I have to stress at no point did I try to give information or drop clues which I thought would lead to Dr. Kelly's identification," he said. Smith told the inquiry he was convinced that Kelly was the source of the BBC's report and that the account had been embellished. David Kelly's family have said he felt betrayed by his bosses when he was identified, but senior civil servants and government officials have denied leaking his name to the press. The appearances follow a day of tension and drama when outgoing Blair's outgoing communications director Alastair Campbell and UK Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon were quizzed by lawyers. Diary entries by Campbell have given a fresh insight into the UK government's fierce dispute with the BBC. (Full Story) They showed that Campbell and Hoon were eager for Kelly's name to be made public after he emerged as the source of a BBC story. Campbell used an expletive in his diary, saying that if Kelly was exposed as the source, it would "**** Gilligan." (Campbell profile) This is the last week of testimony before the Hutton Inquiry at London's Royal Courts of Justice. Lord Hutton, who is chairing the investigation, will give his report later, expected to be November. The consequences could have severe consequences for the BBC and the government, which opinion polls suggest is losing public support over Iraq.
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