Downing Street's working on show

by Ollie Stone-Lee BBC News Online at the Hutton inquiry

The Hutton inquiry has given voters an unprecedented chance to peer through the Downing Street net curtains into the heart of Tony Blair's government.

Number 10 chief of staff Jonathan Powell and Mr Blair's senior foreign policy adviser Sir David Manning on Monday told the Hutton inquiry how the prime minister's entourage met to discuss Dr David Kelly's links with the media.

In an unprecedented public appearance, Mr Powell said he had argued - before the production of the controversial September dossier - that it was crucial it was made clear that "we do not have evidence that he [Saddam Hussein] is an imminent threat".

Powell: No 10 chief-of-staff made an unprecedented public appearance

The dossier "shows he has the means but it does not demonstrate he has the motive to attack his neighbours, let alone the West".

The final dossier spoke of a "current and serious threat".

Instead, the focus needed to be that Iraq had continued to develop weapons after the departure of United Nations inspectors in 1998 and that had to be checked, he had argued.

On 3 July this year, with the row over the dossier in full flow, Mr Powell was called at home by Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon to be told that an official had come forward to say he had spoken to Mr Gilligan.

Mr Powell said he had thought the news could be an "important development".

"On the face of it, as we were told on the telephone, it would have meant that the Andrew Gilligan story was indeed elaborated."

The next evening, he was summoned to a meeting with Sir David Manning, Cabinet Office intelligence chief Sir David Omand and Sir John Scarlett, chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, where he had learnt Dr Kelly's name for the first time.

The senior group's initial concern was over whether the Foreign Affairs Committee, due to report on the lead up to the Iraq war the following week, should be told about the official's admission.

Cover up fear

They feared that failing to disclose the news could lead to accusations of a "cover up", said Mr Powell. But when he called the prime minister, Mr Blair agreed they should wait until the Ministry of Defence gave more details about what the official had said.

Those details, in a letter from MoD top civil servant Sir Kevin Tebbit, were read to Mr Powell over the phone as he travelled to Wales later that evening.

And as the chief of staff was climbing in the Black Mountains on Saturday, 5 July, Mr Campbell rang with more details from the MoD.

A story in the Times newspaper that day also said BBC journalists had been told the corporation's mole was working in the Iraq Survey Group of inspectors.

Mr Campbell had revealed that Times journalist Tom Baldwin had told him that information came from BBC news director Richard Sambrook, the inquiry heard.

More telephone calls ensued over the weekend, with Mr Blair believing there was still not enough information for the Foreign Affairs Committee to be told about Dr Kelly coming forward about his media contacts.

Kelly's views?

Back in Downing Street on that Monday morning, Dr Kelly's role was discussed in a meeting with Mr Blair and his top team.

"The prime minister wanted to know what we knew of Kelly's views on weapons of mass destruction... and what he would say if he appeared before the Intelligence and Security Committee or Foreign Affairs Committee."

Mr Powell said Sir Kevin Tebbit said that while Dr Kelly on the whole agreed with the war he "might say some uncomfortable things about some specific items about which he had views".

He and other Number 10 officials had been involved in redrafting the MoD press release that broke the news that an official had volunteered details of his links with Mr Gilligan.

But he stressed the MoD was given the final say on how the final press release appeared.

When he saw that newspapers had printed Dr Kelly's name, he checked that action was taken to try to protect the scientists from journalists "besieging his home".

Chicken?

In one of the mass of private emails now seen by the inquiry, one of the prime minister's official spokesman, Tom Kelly, said: "This is now a game of chicken with the Beeb - the only way they will shift is if they see the screw tightening."

Mr Powell said he did not think the e-mail was talking about Dr Kelly. It was acknowledged it was going to be hard to find a way for the BBC to climb down from its defence of the story.

Another email suggested Mr Blair himself thought Dr Kelly would probably have to be questioned by both the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Intelligence and Security Committee.

But the scientist would "need to be properly prepared beforehand", thought Mr Blair.

Later on the inquiry's fifth day, Sir David Manning said there was "strong feeling" inside Number 10 about the accusations made in the BBC report.

It was "important that we tried to restore elements of trust which had been challenged by this very direct assault on the integrity both of people and process".