§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether his Department has complied with Dr. David Kelly's terms and conditions of employment in handling the matter of his discussions with Mr. Andrew Gilligan; [127159]
(2) on how many occasions Dr. David Kelly spoke to Mr. Andrew Gilligan; and whether his line managers knew this; [127156]
(3) how many of his Department's personnel have been interviewed in connection with the dossier story reported by Mr. Andrew Gilligan; [127157]
(4) what inquiries are being conducted by his Department into unauthorised briefings of the BBC in connection with Iraq; [127158]
(5) what (a) civil service and (b) MOD rules and regulations may have been infringed by Dr. David Kelly in talking to Mr. Andrew Gilligan. [127155]
§ Mr. HoonThe hon. Gentleman will recognise that these are all matters that are being addressed by Lord Hutton's Inquiry. Lord Hutton will publish his report in 351W due course. I am therefore withholding the information requested under Exemption 4a of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
§ Andrew MackinlayTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence which journalists Mr. David Kelly has met over the past two years other than Mr. Andrew Gilligan of the BBC; and for what purpose each meeting was held; and when each meeting took place; [126331]
§ Mr. Hoon[holding answer 17 July 2003.]: My hon. Friend will understand why it was not possible to answer these questions on the day named. These matters are now being addressed by Lord Hutton"s inquiry.
The information requested has been passed to the inquiry. Lord Hutton will publish his report in due course. I am therefore withholding the information under Exemption 4a of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.