Lord Hutton said today he was considering legal action against the Sun newspaper and its source after it leaked his findings today.
"I deplore the reporting of some of the conclusions of my report by a newspaper this morning in circumstances where it was known that in the public interest I had sought to ensure that the contents of the report would remain confidential until it was published.
"Throughout the inquiry I have taken steps to make available to the public as soon as possible the evidence I have heard and all the statements which I have made.
"In the interests of fairness, I gave advance copies of my report to the parties 24 hours in advance of publication, subject to strict undertakings as to confidentiality.
"It is all the more regrettable that the newspaper published its report of some of my conclusions when the public had only to wait for half a day before I published the full contents...," Lord Hutton said.
"I am now giving urgent consideration to what investigative and legal action I should take in respect of the newspaper and its source."
Dr David Kelly killed himself last June after being exposed as the source for a BBC report which said the British government hyped intelligence on Iraq to justify war.
Lord Hutton found that the BBC report was unfounded, and absolved the British government of an "underhand strategy" to reveal Dr Kelly's name.
Lord Hutton's report was to be a secret until he published it this afternoon, but The Sun,printed the findings in its morning edition.