Britain: Explosive entries in his private diary revealed to the Hutton Inquiry that Mr Alastair Campbell believed Dr David Kelly's exposure as the government mole would "F***" BBC reporter Mr Andrew Gilligan, writes Frank Millar
Heavily edited extracts from Mr Campbell's diary published on the inquiry's website revealed that on July 9th the outgoing Downing Street communications director believed making the government scientist's name public was "the biggest thing" in his highly personalised battle to clear the government of charges of "sexing up" the controversial Iraqi weapons dossier.
Mr Campbell's diary entry for July 4th tells how Mr Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, first told him that an official had come forward to admit meeting Mr Gilligan. And it reveals Mr Campbell's excitement on discovering - based on Dr Kelly's account to his line managers at the MoD - that Mr Gilligan had apparently "misrepresented" his discussion with the government scientist and weapons inspector.
Mr Campbell's entry records: "[Source\] says that he'd come forward and he was saying yes to speak to AG [Andrew Gilligan\], yes, he said intel [intelligence about Iraq's capacity to deploy WMD at 45 minutes\] went in late, but he never said the other stuff" (such as Mr Campbell ordering the insertion of questionable intelligence against the wishes of the intelligence services).
"It was double-edged, but GH [Geoff Hoon\] and I agreed it would f*** Gilligan if that was his source," the diary notes.
Two days later, on July 6th, Mr Campbell records: "GH, like me, wanted to get it out that the source had broken cover to claim \ misrepresented him. GH said he was almost as steamed up as I was."
However, Mr Campbell records that Mr Blair was "nervous" and had "backed off" after consulting the cabinet office intelligence and security co-ordinator Sir David Omand. Mr Campbell and Mr Hoon "felt we were missing a trick" and the next day, following another conversation with Mr Hoon, recorded: "Felt we should get it out through the papers, then have a line to respond."
Mr Campbell again told the inquiry that on the same day as that entry was made, July 7th, he had considered passing Dr Kelly's details - without actually naming him - to a newspaper but that this had been opposed by Mr Blair's official spokesman, Mr Tom Kelly, and Mr Godric Smith, and, more importantly, by Mr Blair himself.
However, with just three days of the inquiry to go, that left unresolved the question of who in government authorised the process by which Dr Kelly did come to be confirmed as the suspected BBC source. And it again turned the spotlight on the briefing given by Mr Tom Kelly to lobby journalists on July 9th. Courtesy of the diaries, Mr Kelly is set to face even tougher questioning about that briefing, and who authorised it.