Family 'blamed Campbell for Kelly naming'

David Kelly’s family made a last ditch effort to convince Lord Hutton the British government deliberately made his name public to help in its battle with the BBC, it emerged tonight.

The law lord’s report concluded there was no “underhand” or devious” strategy to name him.

But in a final submission the family said: “The Government made a conscious decision to cause Dr Kelly’s identity to be revealed and it did so in order to assist it in the battle with the BBC.”

The document, like those from other parties involved in the inquiry, was published tonight.

Tories tried to make Tony Blair’s involvement in the decisions that led to Dr Kelly’s identification a key issue in the run-up to the report.

Dr Kelly’s relatives did not make a direct link to the Prime Minister.

However, they seized on his former media chief Alastair Campbell’s diaries as evidence of the British government’s “improper” intent.

As uncovered during the hearings, Mr Campbell wrote: “The biggest thing needed was the source out.”

Lawyers for Dr Kelly’s family said that was the smoking gun.

“Alastair Campbell’s diary reveals that it was his desire and the desire of others, including the Secretary of State for Defence, that the fact and identity of the source should be made public.”

Given the “impropriety” of what happened it was unsurprising there was no other written evidence, the submission said.

“No one would commit such an improper thought to an official written record,” it said.

“They might do so in a document which they believed would not become public, such as a diary.

“That is exactly what occurred.”

The diaries are among 10 separate sections of evidence to the inquiry highlighted in the submission.

Articles by two journalists showed British government sources briefed about Dr Kelly before the decision was taken to issue a press statement and should not be “underestimated”, the family submission said.

“It is improbable in the extreme this was an ‘indiscretion’ committed by a person within Whitehall who was a rogue element and who was on a frolic of his or her own,” the submission went on.

The subsequent press statement “did give clues and was obviously meant to give such clues”, it continued.

“No witness explained why it was necessary to include such material within the press statement.”

More clues were offered by Mr Blair’s official spokesman Tom Kelly at briefings for political journalists, the family said.

“These clues were designed both to give journalists some material to begin the hunt for the official and to give them an indication that, given those clues, there would be very few people that would fit the bill,” the submission said.

“It had exactly the desired effect.”

British government lawyers had said there was “no point in a conspiracy” to name Dr Kelly because he could have been openly identified.

However, the family insisted that “ignores the stance taken by numerous witnesses, including the Secretary of State for Defence, that such open naming would not be justified until it was clear that Dr Kelly was Andrew Gilligan’s single source”.