Jan. 30, 2004:
Andrew Gilligan, the reporter who broadcast the allegations that the Blair government had "sexed up" the intelligence dossier, resigns from the BBC.
Andrew Gilligan's resignation statement

Jan. 29, 2004:
Greg Dyke, director general and editor-in-chief of the BBC, resigns. "I hope that a line can now be drawn under this whole episode," said Dyke.
» resignation statement

Jan. 28, 2004:
Lord Hutton releases his report on the inquiry, clearing the Tony Blair government of any wrongdoing and criticizing the BBC for unsound reporting methods and loose fact-checking. BBC Chairman Gavyn Davies resigns after the criticism.
» full story

Jan. 21, 2004:
The BBC program Panorama airs an interview with Kelly recorded in October 2002, a month after Tony Blair presented the Iraq dossier to Parliament. In the interview, Kelly says Iraq would take "days or weeks," not 45 minutes, to launch an attack using weapons of mass destruction.

Sept. 25, 2003:
Prime Minister Tony Blair's government is accused of being largely to blame for the apparent suicide of weapons advisor David Kelly. Jeremy Gompertz, a lawyer for Kelly's family, made the accusation during closing statements at the judicial inquiry into Kelly's death. "The government made a deliberate decision to use Dr. Kelly as part of its strategy in its battle with the BBC," he said. "No wonder Dr. Kelly felt betrayed after giving his life to the service of his country. No wonder he was broken-hearted."
» full story

Sept. 22, 2003:
Testifying for a second time at the Hutton inquiry, British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon denies that his government planned to reveal David Kelly to be the source of a controversial BBC story. Hoon insists his department had protected Kelly's identity and denies allegations the government had devised a strategy to leak the weapons expert's name.
» full story

Sept. 18, 2003:
BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan apologizes for indirectly identifying David Kelly as the source of a story that said the British government exaggerated the threat posed by Iraq's weapons. Speaking at the Hutton Inquiry, Gilligan said he sent an e-mail to a British MP, who was sitting on a Foreign Affairs committee, revealing that weapons adviser David Kelly was the source of a story by a BBC colleague. "It was quite wrong to send it (the message) and I can only apologize," Gilligan said.
» full story

Sept. 15, 2003:
The head of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, Sir Richard Dearlove, tells the Hutton inquiry that claims Iraq could deploy chemical or biological weapons on 45 minutes' notice were misinterpreted. Dearlove testifies that his agency did excellent intelligence work and that the 45–minute reference should have been attributed to short-range arms and not to weapons of longer range.
» full story

Sept. 11, 2003:
A British parliamentary committee report says that, although the Blair government did not deliberately "sex up" a dossier on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, its claims did not give a "balanced view" of the situation. The committee also criticized Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon and said his Ministry of Defence had been "unhelpful and potentially misleading" for not disclosing that some of its staff expressed concerns about the dossier.
» full story

Sept. 05, 2003:
A key aide to British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon contradicts his boss's testimony at the Hutton Inquiry. Hoon had earlier told the inquiry he was not involved in the government decision to reveal Kelly as the source of the story. However, his special adviser, Richard Taylor, testified that not only was the defence secretary at the meeting, but that it was held in his office. Political analysts said the revelation has the potential to end Hoon's career.
» full story

Sept. 01, 2003:
Janice Kelly, widow of British weapons expert David Kelly tells the Hutton Inquiry her husband felt "let down" by the government when it became known that he was the source for a controversial BBC report. She said in the weeks before her husband's death he was under strain. He was difficult to talk to, she said, and was withdrawn. She said her husband felt officials in the Ministry of Defence "were the ones who had effectively let his name be known in the public domain."
» full story

Aug. 29, 2003:
Alastair Campbell, the man alleged to have "sexed up" the British government's dossier on Iraq's weapons, announces he will resign. This comes ten days after Campbell took the stand at the Hutton Inquiry. He had been vocal in criticizing Andrew Gilligan's BBC Radio report, which suggested he helped inflate claims about Iraqi weapons in order to justify going to war.
» full story

Aug. 28, 2003:
British Prime Minister Tony Blair tells the Hutton inquiry that if allegations his government had embellished Iraqi intelligence were true, he would have resigned. Blair vigorously defends his government's dossier on Iraq, saying Downing Street had no involvement in writing the file. He insists the intelligence he presented to the British people on the threat posed by Saddam Hussein was solid, and wasn't embellished by government officials.
» full story

Aug. 27, 2003:
British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon defends himself in front of the Hutton Inquiry, saying he attempted to protect David Kelly's identity, in spite of the decision of the Ministry of Defence to name him as the possible source for the controversial BBC report that cast doubt on the government's case for war against Iraq. Hoon insists there was no conspiracy, or plan, to reveal Kelly's identity but admits he pushed Kelly to appear before a parliamentary committee, saying that to do otherwise would be to risk allegations of a government cover-up.
» full story

Aug. 26, 2003:
John Scarlett, a highly placed British intelligence official denies allegations the Blair government knowingly exaggerated the threat of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Scarlett, who is chairman of the secretive Joint Intelligence Committee, says intelligence contained in the report was the best available. "I was absolutely in charge," Scarlett testified. "It was up to my judgmentÖ whether it was safe to include intelligence." But he also acknowledges the claim that Saddam could attack in 45 minutes was based on second–hand intelligence from a single Iraqi source.
» full story

Aug. 19, 2003:
Alastair Campbell, British Prime Minister Tony Blair's communications director, denies he influenced a dossier on Iraq's weapons program to advance the government's case for military action. Testifying at the Hutton inquiry, Campbell said he had nothing to do with claims Iraq could deploy nuclear weapons within 45 minutes. "I had no input, output, influence upon it, whatever, at any stage in the process," Campbell said.
» full story

Aug. 18, 2003:
Testifying at the Hutton Inquiry, an aid to British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the case for the Iraq war was based on a dossier that contained no proof of a threat from Baghdad. In an e-mail to a senior intelligence official, Jonathon Powell said the dossier did "nothing to demonstrate a threat, let alone an imminent threat from [Iraqi President] Saddam Hussein."
» full story

Aug. 13, 2003:
The inquiry into David Kelly's death hears a taped conversation he had with BBC reporter Susan Watts, in which he said he didn't believe the government was being "wilfully dishonest." Kelly said he was uncomfortable with the British intelligence dossier released last Sept., but said he didn't believe government officials were intentionally misleading the public.
» full story

Aug. 12, 2003:
Andrew Gilligan, the journalist who used British scientist David Kelly as a key source, testifies at the Hutton Inquiry that Kelly was sure Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, but that intelligence had been embellished to heighten the actual threat.
» full story

Aug. 11, 2003:
The inquiry into the death of David Kelly begins.
» full story

July 20, 2003:
The BBC admits that Kelly was its main source for the Iraqi dossier story.
» full story

July 19, 2003:
British police confirm the body is that of David Kelly and that he likely committed suicide. His family demands an apology from officials. They say Kelly was distressed about being named as the source of a BBC story.
» full story

July 18, 2003:
A body, suspected to be that of David Kelly, is discovered in a wooded area 10 kilometres from his home near Oxford.
» full story

July 17, 2003:
David Kelly's wife reports him missing after he fails to return from an afternoon walk.

July 15, 2003:
The foreign affairs committee is re-opened and David Kelly testifies that he was not the source used in the BBC story on May 29.

July 7, 2003:
A British House of Commons foreign affairs committee criticizes the government for its handling of the intelligence report on Iraqi weapons. The committee also says Blair inadvertently or mistakenly misrepresented information in the Iraq intelligence dossier. The committee says the report, published in Sept., gave undue prominence to a claim that Iraq could launch a chemical or biological attack within 45 minutes.
» full story

May 29, 2003:
A BBC correspondent reports that a senior government official told him Britain's intelligence dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction was "sexed up" by Prime Minister Tony Blair to build public support for a war there.