A top adviser to British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon who contradicted statements made by his minister during an inquiry into the suicide of a government weapons scientist has resigned, officials said Tuesday.
Richard Taylor stepped down last Friday, two days after an official report exonerated Hoon and the British government of direct responsibility in releasing the name of David Kelly, a former UN weapons inspector who killed himself in July.
Taylor however stressed that his resignation was "completely unrelated" to the so-called Kelly affair.
During the inquiry into the arms expert's suicide, Hoon said he had not taken part in meetings during which the government decided to confirm Kelly as the source of a BBC report on Iraqi weapons if journalists guessed the expert's name.
Taylor later contradicted his boss, saying Hoon was directly connected to the release of Kelly's name.
On Tuesday, Taylor said in a statement that "after three years at the Ministry of Defence as a special adviser I decided it was time to move on." He said he would go to work in the private sector.
Hoon, hailing his work, said in a statement: "Taylor has been a brilliant special adviser and will be much missed."
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