The British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair has been accused of being in a "desperately dodgy" situation over the naming of weapons expert Dr David Kelly.
For the second week running at Prime Minister's Question Time in the House of Commons, Mr Blair was repeatedly pressed by Mr Michael Howard whether he stood by his denial of having authorised the naming of Dr Kelly.
To Tory jeers at question time, Mr Blair insisted he stood by "all that I have said in relation to this issue".
He told the opposition leader it was absurd to try and pre-empt the Hutton report on the affair, which is due out shortly.
Mr Howard said his refusal to answer a straightforward question - "yes or no" - showed how "desperately dodgy" the Prime Minister's position had become.
Mr Blair, in turn, accused Mr Howard of "total opportunism" and having made up his mind on the issue before the Hutton report is published.
He confirmed that he would "lead the Government's case" following publication of the report
As the row erupted, Mr Howard demanded: "Will you now finally confirm that you will lead for the Government in the debate on the Hutton report?"
Mr Blair replied: "As I said at the weekend, the details of the debate - whether there is a vote on it, who speaks on it - will be decided at a later time and announced in the normal way. You will have to be patient. But I can assure you I have absolutely no intention of doing anything other than leading the Government's case on this issue. That is important and I look forward to doing so."
Mr Howard said he was sorry the Prime Minister could not give a straight answer to the question. He said: "Last week you said you were looking forward to the debate. Now you've got cold feet!"