The report, by Defence Correspondent Andrew Gilligan, claimed that the dossier was rewritten the week before publication and that the line about the 45-minute deployment of weapons was inserted at a late stage. Summoned by the Foreign Affairs select committee on June 19, Gilligan described the source as 'one of the senior officials in charge of drawing up the dossier.'

The government denounced the BBC report as a 'lie,' but the BBC stood by its story.

On July 9, in a letter to the BBC, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon named Dr David Kelly, a ministry of defence microbiologist and weapons consultant, as the source and demanded to know from the BBC whether or not his allegation was true. The BBC dismissed the demand as a farce.

Facing pressure from the opposition, Prime Minister Tony Blair challenged the BBC to reveal its source. Blair declared he would resign if the BBC report proved correct.

On July 18, Dr Kelly was reported missing, having left his home at 3 am a day earlier. The police discovered a body at Harrowdown Hill, close to Dr Kelly's home in Southmoor, near Abingdon. A day later, the police confirmed that the body was that of Dr Kelly, who had slit his wrists after consuming powerful painkillers.

His family issued a statement blaming both the government and the BBC, which later acknowledged Kelly as the source, for his death.

An inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Kelly's death is on; the report is expected in January.

Tony Blair is not off the hook yet.

Text: Ramananda Sengupta

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