As the Hutton Inquiry investigates the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr. David Kelly, the longstanding journalistic ethic of not revealing sources has come under scrutiny but this is not the first time that principle has been in contention.

This week we return to 1963 and the Vassall Inquiry. John Vassall was an Admiralty clerk caught spying for the Russians. It was the latest in a line of spy scandals to plague the Macmillan government and the lack of security and in particular Vassall's homosexuality sent the press into a feeding frenzy with journalists trying to sniff out liaisons between Vassall and certain government ministers. Macmillan set up a tribunal under Lord Radcliffe to investigate the affair.

As in the case with Hutton, Radcliffe called civil servants, journalists and politicians to give evidence but, unlike the contemporary parallel, spared the prime minister himself. Two of the journalists appearing were Brendan Mulholland of the Daily Mail and Reg Foster of the Daily Sketch. Mulholland had claimed in an article that Vassall was known as 'Aunty' in the Admiralty and Foster that Vassall was in the habit of buying women's clothing from a West End store. When asked to reveal the sources of their information both men declined. They were sent by Lord Radcliffe to the High Court to answers charges of contempt of court. There they were sentenced to six and three months respectively - the first journalists to go to prison for refusing to reveal their sources.