January 28, 2004

Well, that’s it. The swine have won – from Ali C via Geoff Hoon and Tony Blair to refugee bashing Becky Wade. Lord Hutton travailed and decided that everything was for the best in this best of all possible worlds – with the exception of the BBC. So exactly what is a judge doing “standing…

“I consider there was no such underhand strategy…the decision of the Prime Minister was taken in order to prevent accusations of a cover-up” That’s it – “I further stand by the decision of the Prime Minister..” He’s just explicitly cleared Blair. But what’s this “stand by”? You’re not meant to stand by anyone – you’re…

“It is impossible to imply, as some commentators have do, that there was an underhand strategy to expose Dr Kelly” Really? “The government could have battened down the hatches to ride out the storm..” In theory, I suppose “I conclude..that there was no such underhand strategy.” “ The government were obliged to disclose that a…

Hutton says there were management failures at the BBC. “An attack on the government’s integrity”. Boo hiss! 1 – The reports were all nonsense. 2. – “The communication of information through the media is a vital part of a democratic society, but the right of communication does not include a right to attack the integrity…

“It is not possible to reach a definite conclusion on what Kelly said to Gilligan…I am satisfied that Kelly did not say to Mr Gilligan that the government’s claim was knowingly false” “Dr Kelly was acting in breach of the civil service rules of procedure..it may be that at the time of the meeting he…

Hutton states he does not claim to distinguish tactical or strategic weapons. States that the allegation the government used “45mins” knowing it to be false, is false, as the source provided the information in good faith. However, does say that the wording was misleading and that No. 10 Downing St attempted to word it as…

Hutton states he is certain that the cause of death was haemorrage from an incised wound and that no third party was involved. “It is very unlikely that any third party could have forced Dr Kelly to swallow this large quantity of tablets” Recapping the 5 headings: 1) preparation of the dossier 2) the meeting…

He apparently received various e-mails containing parliamentary questions including Which rules and regulations would an MOD civil servant have breached by meeting Andrew Gilligan? on the night of his suicide.

Hutton is now dealing with the calls to Kelly from the MOD press office and the arrival of the Sunday Times hack. Note – the evidence referred to in last post was from Janice Kelly.

We are now hacking through all those briefings. “It is apparent..that Dr Kelly apprehended that his name would soon become public knowledge” (Hutton) “We have an amazing press in this country that does not take long to find out such details”(!) (now moving to the Q&A briefing)