BRITAIN: There was fresh pressure on No 10 Downing Street yesterday as it was accused of deliberately playing down Dr David Kelly's role in the collection and assessment of intelligence on Iraq's weapons capability.
Throughout the crisis sparked by the former Ministry of Defence adviser's presumed suicide last week, No 10 spokesmen have insisted that Dr Kelly did not have access to intelligence and contributed only "a few paragraphs" of historical detail to last September's controversial dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
This is central to Downing Street's charge that the BBC seriously misrepresented the status of its source - now identified as Dr Kelly - for the original Today programme report, claiming No 10 had "sexed up" the September dossier against the wishes of the intelligence services.
However, the Daily Telegraph yesterday carried a report claiming that Dr Kelly had in fact written "the assessment of which weapons and weapons-making equipment or materials Iraq was believed to be hiding and the 'concealment and deception programme' being deployed."
Mr Glenmore Trenear-Harvey, an associate editor of EYE SPY magazine wrote: "Far from being an obscure scientist, Dr Kelly was one of the British intelligence services' most valuable advisers, inextricably involved in the analysis of secret intelligence on Iraq."
He continued: "He was part of the secret world from the moment he left his research post at Oxford University in 1984 to join the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment in Porton Down.
"In this highly secure and sensitive post, he was the recipient of 'UK eyes only' secret intelligence reports and briefings from leading officials of the Defence Intelligence Staff."
The Guardian also reported that Dr Kelly sat on a number of high-level MoD committees at which intelligence assessments were discussed, and that, while Dr Kelly did not brief the Defence Secretary Mr Geoff Hoon, he briefed those who did meet Mr Hoon.
The paper said Dr Kelly's advice had been sought by MI6. The paper's expert in intelligence matters, Mr Richard Norton-Taylor, also said: "So when he told journalists he had misgivings about the government's now largely discredited September dossier it was extremely significant."