Britain: The British government weapons expert, Dr David Kelly, was given just two days' warning that his name was likely to appear in the press, the inquiry into his death was told yesterday.
In a dramatic change of evidence, a key Ministry of Defence witness admitted that no mention was made of the likelihood that his name would be made public when he was first interviewed about his contacts with BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan.
Mr Bryan Wells, Dr Kelly's line manager, told the Hutton Inquiry that the prospect of the scientist's name "emerging" had only been raised at a second interview three days later on July 7th.
However, the inquiry has already heard that by that stage senior government figures - from Prime Minister Tony Blair and Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon down - had concluded that it was "inevitable" he would be named.
The inquiry was set up to investigate how Dr Kelly apparently came to take his own life after being publicly identified as the source of Mr Gilligan's story claiming the Government "sexed up" its Iraq weapons dossier.
In his evidence last month, Dr Wells said Dr Kelly had "acknowledged" at his first interview with MoD managers on July 4th that his name could come out. But under re-examination by counsel to the inquiry, Mr James Dingemans QC, he admitted that the question of Dr Kelly's name "emerging" was only raised at the second interview.
"On July 4th, to the best of my recollection, the issue of a possible press statement was raised but not the naming. The issue of the name emerging was discussed on 7th July," he said.
By that time senior Downing Street and MoD officials were already discussing the prospect of him giving evidence to the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee in public.
By July 7th MoD officials had also begun working on the "question and answer" material which gave press officers the go-ahead to confirm Dr Kelly's identity to journalists if they came up with the right name.
Asked by if Dr Kelly had ever been informed of the plan, Dr Wells replied: "At no point did David discuss the mechanics of his name emerging with me."
Mr Dingemans asked: "This is fair, is it not, at no point did anyone discuss with Dr Kelly the mechanics by which his name might emerge?"
Dr Wells replied: "I can only answer for myself, sir, in that I did not."
Earlier, on the final full day of evidence to the inquiry, the chairman of the BBC board of governors, Mr Gavyn Davies, rejected claims that the governors should have done more to investigate Mr Gilligan's report on the Iraq dossier.
"The board of the BBC cannot operate unless it can rely on the good faith and competence of its officers. I am absolutely certain that it can," he said. - (PA)