Fleet St lines up targets for `sexed up' war claims

"Gilligan, Kelly, Campbell: tale of flaws, evasion and spin unfolds."

The Guardian newspaper headline

A judicial inquiry into the death of a government scientist who allegedly claimed Britain "sexed up" its case for war in Iraq prepared to hear a third day of evidence yesterday, as London's press began lining up targets for blame.

"Lies, Lies, Lies -- BBC's dossier man exposed," screamed The Sun's front page yesterday.

The attack was aimed at BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan, who reported in May that London exaggerated the case for war.

Gilligan following the apparent suicide in July of British government scientist David Kelly that he was the main source for the story.

Gilligan, whose contentious report has triggered the gravest political crisis of British Prime Minister Tony Blair's six-year tenure, on Tuesday defended his story before the judicial inquiry in London.

"The man [Gilligan] who claimed the government `sexed up' its dossier on Iraq is shown to be an extraordinarily unreliable witness," said The Sun's editorial.

It added: "And this is the man on whose word the prime minister could fall, according to some misguided and mischievous commentators."

The inquiry in London heard on Tuesday that senior BBC managers had voiced serious misgivings about Gilligan's original reporting, saying it had been "marred" by "loose use of language and lack of judgment".

"BBC admits Iraq scoop was flawed," headlined The Times, adding that "reasonable doubts about Mr Gilligan and his report make the BBC's decision to conduct a battle with the government in defense of both of them highly questionable."

The government's dossier on Iraq, unveiled last September, included a headline-grabbing claim that Baghdad could deploy chemical or biological weapons in as little as 45 minutes.

According to Gilligan, Kelly told him that most claims in the dossier were based on two sources, but the 45-minute claim was based only on a single source, implying it was less reliable.

Kelly's suicide came after he was identified by the government as the probable "mole," and followed hostile questioning at a parliamentary hearing where the scientist denied being the main source of Gilligan's report.

The Sun's rival, the Daily Mirror, meanwhile appeared in full support of Gilligan on Wednesday, using an editorial to describe his evidence as "devastating," "compelling" and "believable."

The Mirror, like the majority of Britain's press, preferred to target Alastair Campbell, Blair's key aide and media chief.

In June, Gilligan used a newspaper article to report that Campbell was responsible for ordering intelligence officers to beef up the government's Iraq dossier.

A second BBC journalist told the Hutton inquiry on Tuesday she was told by Kelly that Campbell had been responsible for inserting the 45-minute claim.

"Campbell is accused over dossier," headlined The Daily Telegraph, adding that Watts' comments go "some way to supporting Mr Gilligan's claim that it was Dr Kelly and not he who first raised Mr Campbell's name in connection with the `sexing up' of the dossier".

The Independent joined in. "Two reporters, one story: Campbell sexed up the dossier," said its front page.

The Guardian was more cautious, however, leaving others to find a scapegoat.

"Gilligan, Kelly, Campbell: tale of flaws, evasion and spin unfolds," said its front page, adding in its editorial that "it would be wrong to rush to conclusions on the basis of evidence which changes as each day unfolds."