LONDON, Sept 17: The BBC journalist who first aired claims that British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government “sexed up” the case for invading Iraq admitted on Wednesday that he had made a series of errors in his report.

Speaking at the inquiry into the death of David Kelly — the source of his controversial news story — Mr Gilligan said firstly he had been wrong to refer to the Ministry of Defence consultant as an “intelligence service source”.

Asked why he did, during a tough cross-examination at London’s Royal Courts of Justice, he said: “I don’t know. It was a mistake. It was the kind of mistake that does arise in live broadcasts.”

Mr Gilligan is one of several key witnesses recalled by senior judge Brian Hutton for cross-examination during the second phase of the inquiry which began on Monday.

Mr Gilligan stood by the main claim in his May 29 BBC radio report that intelligence that Saddam Hussein could use weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes was inserted into a Sept 2002 dossier late at the government’s request.

The ensuing row between Downing Street and the BBC led to the Ministry of Defence confirming Kelly’s name to journalists on July 9.

Nine days later and after being grilled by two parliamentary committees, Dr Kelly was found dead with a slit wrist in woodland near his home.—AFP