Hoon admits errors

Hoon told the Daily Telegraph that government scientist David Kelly should have been informed earlier that his name was to be made public in the press.

Kelly, a former UN arms expert, killed himself last July after being named as the source of a hugely controversial BBC report which accused Prime Minister Tony Blair's government of exaggerating the case for war on Iraq.

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The BBC allegation was dismissed by a high-profile inquiry led by senior judge Lord Hutton which reported in January. The probe also cleared Blair's government of serious wrongdoing in Kelly's death.

Hoon told the Telegraph: "I accept with the benefit of hindsight that we should have done more to tell David Kelly about what was happening in the department ... that his name was to be confirmed" to journalists.