MoD admits Hoon met Kelly

[T_i_B]

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/kelly/story/0,13747,1007285,00.html

The credibility of the defence secretary, Geoff Hoon, is looking increasingly fragile after his own officials were last night forced to contradict claims that he had never spoken to David Kelly, the biological weapons expert.

The Ministry of Defence admitted that, far from never having spoken personally to Dr Kelly at any time, Mr Hoon had a conversation with the scientist "some months ago" after he collared the cabinet minister in the department canteen.

A MoD spokesman said: "Some time ago, Mr Hoon bumped into Dr Kelly in the staff canteen and they had a chat." The admission is in stark contrast to Mr Hoon's insistence until now that he had not met the adviser.

Mr Hoon, now fighting for his political life, has also said he had not been briefed personally by him, and did not speak to him - even after it emerged he was the source for BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan's story that Downing Street had "sexed up" its September dossier on whether Saddam possessed weapons of mass destruction.