Kelly admitted he might have said 'sexier'

David Kelly admitted that he might have used the word "sexier" in his meeting with the BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan, according to documents released yesterday.

He told members of the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee that he used the word "on occasions" and acknowledged it was "possible" that he used it when he met Mr Gilligan on 22 May.

Mr Gilligan sparked a bitter dispute between the BBC and the Government when he claimed Downing Street had "sexed up" its dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

Witnesses to the Hutton inquiry have claimed that Dr Kelly would not have used such language. Dr Kelly himself told the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee: "It does not sound like the sort of thing I would say."

Interviewed in private by members of the ISC, Dr Kelly said he could not remember using the word in his meeting with Mr Gilligan. But asked by the former Tory chief whip James Arbuthnot whether he used the word "sexier", Dr Kelly said: "It is a word I would use, I use it on occasions."

Asked by Alan Howarth MP if he still felt comfortable with the fact that he had talked to Mr Gilligan, Dr Kelly said: "I, of course, deeply regret it with hindsight, but yes, if this had not arisen it would have been a useful meeting for me."

He went on: "Regrettably I've discussed with him issues that are - now - controversial."

When Iraq was mentioned in one question, he replied: "I sometimes wish I were there right now."

Dr Kelly said he agonised for three days before admitting to the Ministry of Defence that he had met Mr Gilligan. He said: "I felt uncomfortable with the situation that I found myself in and so the only way of resolving that problem, because I thought for three days before deciding to write, and my conscience dictated that I communicated what I had done in the best way that I could, and that's exactly what I did."

Asked if his contact with the press had ever led to him being reprimanded before, Dr Kelly told the committee: "This is the first time I've ever got into any trouble."

The ISC report backs two of the claims made by Mr Gilligan: that there was only a single source for the allegations in his BBC report and that there was dissatisfaction about the dossier within the intelligence community. What step the BBC takes next is likely to depend on the conclusion Lord Hutton comes to. If he, too, exonerates Alastair Campbell and the Government, then there will be intense pressure on the Corporation to withdraw the charges publicly.

Gavyn Davies, chairman of the board of governors, has already said there will be a review of procedure in the BBC, including the practice of reporters taking part in unscripted question-and-answer sessions. During such a session, Mr Gilligan said the Government had inserted claims in the dossier "probably knowing" they were untrue.