Blair 'intervened in hardening up dossier on Iraq'

[NNN0LHI]

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=432239

A senior BBC journalist was told that Tony Blair was "involved" in sending the September Iraq dossier back to the Joint Intelligence Committee to harden up its content. The source of the report is understood not to have been the late David Kelly.

The likely existence of an additional intelligence source for the BBC's reports on the disputed Iraq weapons dossier comes as the Government fights a rearguard action to regain public trust on the eve of the Hutton inquiry.

Andrew Gilligan, the defence correspondent whose 29 May report on Radio 4's Today programme sparked the BBC's ongoing row with Alastair Campbell, Downing Street's director of communications, is to give evidence on Tuesday. He will be followed by Susan Watts, the BBC's science correspondent who has kept a tape recording of her conversation with Dr Kelly, in which he is said to mention Mr Campbell, and special correspondent Gavin Hewitt.

News that a fourth BBC journalist, the diplomatic correspondent Barnaby Mason, had direct contact with a source who underlined the intelligence community's concerns about the Government's use of information on Iraq's alleged WMD programme in the run-up to war strengthens the corporation's hand.

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[Jackpine Radical]

1. Kinda weird to watch a free press in operation

against politicians who can actually be held accountable for their actions. Those Limeys are just so un-American in the way they go about things.

[AndyTiedye]

2. It Used to be like that here

before our press was bought-out by the Republican party.

[ewagner]

4. Sort of

makes me wish for the good old days ... you know..when politicians actually feared exposure by the media.............so they would think twice before trying to deceive or do anything underhanded.

[realFedUp]

3. I don't understand why Blair is still there.

Seems like this has dragged out forever, including the death
of a leading scientist.

[indictrichardperle]

5. harden This up, Poodle

piece of shit.