Hutton to rap 5 over Kelly affair, Blair cleared

Written warning ... (from left) Richard Sambrook, Geoff Hoon, Andrew Gilligan, Greg Dyke and Alastair Campbell

FIVE senior figures will be slated in the Hutton report — as the PM is cleared of blame over the death of Dr David Kelly.

Tony Blair is the only key player in the affair not sent a warning letter by Lord Hutton.

Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon and former Downing Street communications chief Alastair Campbell were among those told they will be criticised in the report.

BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan — whose Today report triggered the events leading to Dr Kelly’s suicide — is another.

He claimed the ex-UN weapons inspector told him Downing Street “sexed up” the threat posed by Iraq.

Gilligan’s bosses, BBC director-general Greg Dyke and head of news Richard Sambrook, complete the high-profile line-up.

The PM’s escape from personal criticism in the report which comes out on Wednesday is a boost as he enters his toughest week in politics.

Tomorrow he faces a crucial Commons debate on student fees and yesterday Mr Blair admitted his neck is on the line. He said: “I think in this job you spend the entire time at risk, so there is not a moment when you are not.

“The Conservative leader in particular has accused me of lying over weapons of mass destruction and as far as the report touches on those issues, it will be important.”

Michael Howard has also claimed the PM lied when he denied authorising the leaking of Dr Kelly’s name as Gilligan’s mole.

Yesterday former Defence Minister Lewis Moonie claimed the dossier on Saddam’s weapons was based on dodgy intelligence. Mr Moonie — in Government during the war — admitted the lack of a major weapons’ find made this look “increasingly likely”.

He said: “If it’s the case that the intelligence that we had was deficient ... sooner or later we may well have to say, ‘Yep, the intelligence was faulty and the decisions we took were based on the best evidence available and the best evidence available wasn’t good enough.’

“Sooner or later if nothing turns up and it’s very clear that there’s nothing there and that he did destroy them after the ’91 conflict and carried out a huge bluff ever after ... well he paid the price for his bluff.”

Meanwhile, it was claimed Saddam hid his WMD in Syria before the war. David Kay, who resigned as the coalition’s chief weapons’ inspector last week, said he had evidence they were smuggled across the border.

Dr Kay said: “We know from interrogation of former Iraqi officials that a lot of material went to Syria before the war, including some components of Saddam’s WMD programme. Precisely what went to Syria and what has happened to it is a major issue that needs to be resolved.”

He also said he had proof Iraqi scientists were working on “programme activities”.

His remarks pile pressure on Syrian President Bashar Assad. He was Saddam’s main ally and has given the former dictator’s family and officials refuge since the war.

A Syrian official said: “These allegations have been raised many times in the past by Israeli officials, which proves they are false.”

Blair cleared of "dishonourable conduct" in Kelly affair: Hutton report

LONDON : A judicial inquiry into the suicide of defence expert David Kelly has cleared British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his government of "dishonourable conduct", The Sun newspaper said.

The paper said it had seen extracts of the conclusions of the report by Lord Brian Hutton which is to be made public at 12:30 pm (1230 GMT) on Wednesday, with Blair to make a statement in parliament 90 minutes later.

"Lord Hutton concludes there was no 'dishonourable, underhand or duplicitious strategy' by the government to leak Dr Kelly's name", the Sun, Britain's best-selling newspaper, said.

Kelly, a respected Ministry of Defence expert on biological weapons, killed himself in July soon after he was exposed as the source of a BBC radio report in May which alleged that the government had "sexed up" a September 2002 dossier on Iraq and weapons of mass destruction.

The Sun said the report -- which Hutton went to great pains to keep under wraps before its publication time -- criticised BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan for failing to put his story to the Ministry of Defence before airing it.

But it added that Hutton's report largely cleared Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon of wrongdoing.

Political analysts had widely expected that Hoon would take the fall for the Kelly affair.

- AFP

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.