Campbell 'suggested source leak'

Smith: Leak idea was floated

Downing Street press chief Alastair Campbell floated the idea of leaking to a newspaper the fact an official had admitted contact with the BBC, the Hutton inquiry has heard.

Number 10 official spokesman Godric Smith said Mr Campbell made the suggestion about releasing the news, without naming the official, on 7 July because he was worried the prime minister was due to be questioned by senior MPs the next day.

It came at the height of the government's row with the BBC over claims that Number 10 had "sexed up" the key intelligence dossier about Iraq weapons.

HUTTON INQUIRY Set up after apparent suicide of Dr David Kelly in July Dr Kelly was government expert in Iraq weapons programmes He was named as source of controversial BBC report Report alleged government had 'sexed up' a dossier on Iraq's weapons capability Government denies the allegations Day seven: Point-by-point Spotlight on Kelly naming

Dr David Kelly was the BBC's source for those allegations before his death last month after apparently committing suicide.

Explaining why he cautioned against the leaking the news, Mr Smith said: "I thought that... if the decision was taken to make this information public then the government should make it public itself."

Mr Campbell took the advice, he said.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 8 July that an unnamed official had come forward to say he had spoken to BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan.

A little over 24 hours later the MoD had confirmed Dr Kelly's identity to newspapers who put his name to them.

The spokesman's evidence came the day after Mr Campbell told the inquiry that the way Dr Kelly's identity was revealed could have been handled better.

I unreservedly apologise to the Kelly family that words of mine intrude into their grief at that time Spokesman Tom Kelly about his "Walter Mitty" comments Blair spokesmen under scrutiny

Mr Campbell said that in hindsight it would have been better to have announced Dr Kelly's name openly - but at the time he was told by Mr Blair to leave the decision to the MoD.

Mr Smith remembered MoD permanent secretary Sir Kevin Tebbit saying that Dr Kelly accepted that his name would come out.

But Dr Kelly had not wanted "to be in the first wave of publicity, which accounted for the strategy which the Ministry of Defence were pursuing".

Other key points from Wednesday's evidence were:

• Sir Kevin Tebbit warned Downing Street that Dr Kelly's emergence as the suspected mole was not some "windfall bonus" in the row because he could have some awkward views

• Tony Blair had clearly wanted something done about the scientist once Downing Street heard he had spoken to Mr Gilligan said Sir Kevin

• The MoD's top civil servant accepted it was Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon's prerogative to overrule his advice not to allow MPs to question Dr Kelly publicly - which they did three days before his death

• Godric Smith said an "awful lot of work" was done on the dossier between 11 September and its publication on 24 September

Mr Smith was followed into the witness box by fellow Number 10 spokesman Tom Kelly, who earlier this month had to apologise for describing the dead scientist as a "Walter Mitty" type character.

The spokesman said he never intended the remarks, made in a background briefing, to be quoted in any way and insisted they did not reflect the mindset inside Number 10.

Tom Kelly expressed regrets

He went on: "I unreservedly apologise to the Kelly family that words of mine intrude into their grief at that time.

"Whatever my motives, it was a mistake that led to that intrusion and I have to take responsibility for that mistake."

During the earlier row with the BBC, Mr Kelly suggested that Downing Street was engaged in a "game of chicken with the Beeb".

Asked about the email, Mr Kelly said he would not normally use such language but was writing to a close colleague.

"I did not mean I regarded it as a game but it was something that I did not think we were going to be capable of private resolution," he added.

Earlier, questioned about his role in the drafting process for the dossier, Mr Smith argued it was "perfectly proper" for experts in communications to advise on things like the tone, structure and handling.

But he insisted they had not undermined any of the intelligence judgements.

The fact that some newspapers' front page headlines on the day of publication were about Iraq being able to launch weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes was that it was new, not because of briefings from Number 10, he insisted.