Gilligan evidence shelved

Plans to publish evidence given in secret by BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan to the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee have been postponed indefinitely, committee chairman Donald Anderson said today.

As Tony Blair faced the fall-out over the suicide of scientist Dr David Kelly, Mr Anderson said the committee had decided "reluctantly" not to make Mr Gilligan's evidence public.

Dr Kelly's death presented the Prime Minister with the gravest crisis of his career during a marathon diplomatic trip in the Far East.

Mr Gilligan wrote to Mr Anderson to request that his evidence was not made public and BBC chairman Gavyn Davies also wrote a letter.