The BBC has a tape of the scientist Dr David Kelly expressing concern aboutthe way Iraq weapons intelligence was presented, the corporation was reportingtoday.
The tape of a conversation between Dr Kelly and the science editor ofNewsnight, Susan Watts, was expected to be submitted as part of its evidence tothe judicial inquiry into Dr Kelly's death.
The Guardian newspaper was today reporting that the BBC believed the tape wasthe "smoking gun" that would exonerate Andrew Gilligan, the BBC Radio 4 Todayprogramme correspondent who reported the suggestion that Number 10 "sexed up"the September dossier on Iraq's banned weapons.
The BBC said today that it would not discuss the content of the tape but thatit is thought to regard it as a "useful" part of its evidence, rather than thecentrepiece.
Dr Kelly was found with his wrist slashed in an Oxfordshire wood days aftercoming under intense scrutiny as the source for Mr Gilligan's story.
After his death, the BBC confirmed that he had been the main source for threejournalists who had reported concerns about the way Iraq weapons intelligencehad been presented.
On Newsnight, Ms Watts had quoted an unnamed source at length - now known asDr Kelly - questioning the claim that Iraq could launch weapons of massdestruction within 45 minutes.
"It was a statement that was made and it just got out of all proportion,"the source said.
"They were desperate for information, they were pushing hard for informationwhich could be released. That was one that popped up and it was seized on andit's unfortunate that it was.
"That's why there is the argument between the intelligence services and theCabinet Office/No 10 - because they picked up on it and once they've picked upon it, you can't pull it back from them."
The news of the tape came as it was reported yesterday that signs of crackswere emerging at the highest level of the BBC.
There were concerns among the BBC's board of governors about whether they hadall the facts when they issued their support of Mr Gilligan and thecorporation's director of news, Richard Sambrook, it was reported.
But BBC chairman Gavyn Davies said in a statement that the BBC board ofgovernors had agreed there was no need to call a special meeting.
PA