The divisions within Whitehall became blurred

Downing Street has consistently denied devising the strategy identifying David Kelly as the source behind the BBC's claims over manipulation of the Government's September dossier.

It has insisted the Ministry of Defence mostly dealt with the announcement that a scientist had owned up to meeting BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan - including the controversial idea for MoD press officers to confirm Dr Kelly's identity if put to them.

Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's director of communications, told the Hutton inquiry he thought the MoD had erred in letting Dr Kelly's name "dribble out".

But, with panic growing in Whitehall's upper echelons about the Kelly affair, Cabinet Office documents show the lines demarking Government departments were far from clear-cut.

Tony Blair insisted the MoD should stay in charge, but still found time to chair five meetings in two days on how to deal with the crisis. A memo from Sir John Scarlett recalled a meeting at 11.45am on 8 July that agreed "the issue would inevitably become public." That meeting also seemingly set off the chain of events leading to Dr Kelly coming before the Commons foreign affairs select committee.

Another meeting, less than two hours later, discussed whether, if Dr Kelly's name became public, the Government would be "criticised for putting him under wider pressure".

Nevertheless, the MoD put out a statement, drafted after discussions and amendments by Mr Campbell and Jonathan Powell, the Prime Minister's chief of staff, that an unnamed source had come forward.

Next day, the MoD press office began confirming Dr Kelly's name. Ministry officials have told Lord Hutton this was to prevent officials from being wrongly named.

But new evidence posted on the internet shows Mr Campbell played a bigger role than he has admitted in finger-pointing. On 8 July, Philip Webster, The Times' political editor, e-mailed him about a tip Mr Gilligan's source was a female Foreign Office official. Mr Campbell just replied: "Wrong." Grateful for avoiding a wild goose chase, Mr Webster replied "Thanks."