Hoon on the defensive

By Nick Assinder
BBC News Online political correspondent at the Hutton inquiry

For a man supposed to have his head on the guillotine, Geoff Hoon looked remarkably relaxed as he started giving evidence to the Hutton inquiry.

It did not last to the end of the session.

Hoon: Ready to fight to save cabinet career

After more than two and a half hours of evidence a mildly hunted look had settled on his face.

And most watching his performance appeared to agree that, despite a careful attempt to distance himself from the naming of tragic scientist Dr David Kelly, serious questions remained unanswered.

Mr Hoon had come to the hearing with much of the flak over Dr Kelly's apparent suicide bursting around his head.

Since the Hutton inquiry started - even before - he has been widely regarded as the most likely casualty in the row.

And much of the evidence given to the inquiry appears to have pointed in that direction, particularly over the naming of Dr Kelly.

Jonathan Powell

It has even been suggested that the defence secretary has resigned himself to his fate.

It certainly did not look like that as he time and again insisted he had been motivated by a desire to protect Dr Kelly and had never agreed to make his name public.

And more than once he suggested he had not seen crucial press statements or advice to his department's press officers over how to deal with inquiries into Dr Kelly's identity.

Indeed, he insisted the only time he had ever named Dr Kelly was in a purely private letter to the Chairman of the BBC Gavyn Davies.

And even then, he said, that strategy had been at the suggestion of Tony Blair's chief of staff Jonathan Powell.

In dark suit and tie over a crisp white shirt, he carefully stated his case to Lord Hutton.

No conspiracy

He insisted he had never wanted to name Dr Kelly publicly until he was certain that he was the source of the controversial BBC story claiming Downing Street had sexed up intelligence on Saddam Hussein's weapons programme.

And he had not known Dr Kelly was the single source until the BBC confirmed it after his death.

"There was no conspiracy, strategy or plan covertly to make his name known. That was not the case."

But he was repeatedly questioned over the strategy adopted by the Ministry of Defence to confirm Dr Kelly's name if a journalist had come up with it.

Hoon agreed to Kelly facing MPs

They were uncomfortable exchanges, with the defence secretary confirming he had always believed it was likely Dr Kelly's name would become public.

He was similarly pressed over his letter to the Labour chairman of the foreign affairs select committee, Donald Anderson suggestion Dr Kelly's evidence session should be kept short and that he should not be questioned over his views on the controversial dossier on Iraq's weapons programme.

He admitted knowing Dr Kelly had personal views about it, but insisted he was not trying to stop him expressing them.

Mrs Kelly

In any case, Mr Anderson had agreed with him, he said.

There were other difficult moments in a session during which Mr Hoon had clearly wanted to show he had done nothing to "out" Dr Kelly, or put him under undue pressure.

He ended by offering what amounted to a personal statement.

He expressed his public condolences to Dr Kelly's family, and particularly thanked the scientist's wife "for her understanding".

All he had ever attempted to do was "establish the facts", he said.

It had, ultimately, been a defensive performance and only Lord Hutton's findings will say whether it was enough to lift the cloud over Mr Hoon's future.