Gilligan ‘may have increased pressure on Kelly’

REPORTER Andrew Gilligan may have increased the pressures on David Kelly by briefing MPs on how to question the weapons specialist at a committee hearing days before his death, the chairman of the BBC governors acknowledged yesterday.

Gavyn Davies told the Hutton Inquiry Mr Gilligan had been wrong to send members of the Foreign Affairs Committee an email revealing that Dr Kelly had been the source for a second BBC story, by the Newsnight journalist Susan Watts.

A friend of the scientist told the inquiry on Wednesday that Dr Kelly had been “totally thrown” when, during the evidence session on July 15, Liberal Democrat MP David Chidgey read from the email a quote he was alleged to have made to Ms Watts.