Airstrip One

On the First Day... - 11th August 2003, 10.53

Lord Hutton found that New Labour's boast of "joined up government" was not practiced. The FO appeared to regard Kelly as an authoritative source on WMD who could be trusted to liaise with the media. The MOD was unable to confirm whether he was an "intelligent source", or if he was a member of the Defence Intelligence Service.

The revelation that the claims of the first dossier from September 2002 troubled some civil servants was treated to a grandstanding treatise on spin in the Evening Standard. However, any examination of policy will reveal dissent or concern. Their existence does not count as evidence of political manipulation on the part of the government.

As Hutton also heard, no official was able (or was willing) to identify the provenance of the 45 minute claim. There is an air of confusion that the civil service hopes will not be perceived as obfuscation. After all, the two are very similar in their outcome.