London, Oct 14: British Prime Minister Tony Blair chaired the meeting where officials decided to confirm the identity of the source of a BBC report that the government had "sexed up" a dossier on Iraq's weapons, a senior civil servant said today. Before that meeting on July 8, officials had believed the government had nothing to gain by disclosing that weapons adviser David Kelly had told his superiors that he had met with a British Broadcasting Corp. reporter.
"The change of stance was a result of the meeting chaired by the Prime Minister," said Sir Kevin Tebbit, the top civil servant at the Ministry of Defence.
Tebbit, speaking at a judicial inquiry into Kelly's death, said he did not attend the meeting but that the ministry concurred with the decision. The ministry put out a statement on July 8 saying an employee had come forward, but did not identify him. Press officers at the Ministry of Defence were instructed, however, to confirm that it was Kelly if any journalist correctly guessed the name.
That happened the next day. Nine days later, Kelly was found dead, an apparent suicide.
Tebbit was the last witness to be called at the wide-ranging inquiry into Kelly's death led by Lord Hutton, a top appeals court judge. When Blair appeared before the inquiry on August 28, he said that he took full responsibility for the decisions by government officials that led to Kelly being publicly identified. Blair said the action was necessary to ensure that all the facts were known. Bureau Report