Valerie Plame said her identity was 'recklessly abused'

Plame's criticisms

The comments were her first public statements on a political scandal which rocked Washington.

She says her identity was revealed in 2003 to discredit her husband, a former diplomat, for criticising the Iraq war.

No-one has been charged over the leak, but the vice-president's former top aide was convicted of perjury.

It was a terrible irony that administration officials were the ones who destroyed my cover

Valerie Plame

Ex-spy makes tough Bush critic

Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former chief of staff to Dick Cheney, resigned from his role as chief of staff and was convicted of perjury and obstruction in the case earlier this month.

He could face up to 25 years in prison.

A US former Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, has admitted that he first disclosed that Ms Plame was an undercover CIA agent.

Exaggerated

Former US ambassador and Ms Plame's husband, Joseph Wilson, stated publicly that the case for war against Iraq and the threat the country posed had been exaggerated.

Soon after his comments, government sources revealed the secret identity of his wife to US media.

Ms Plame said she had always been aware that her identity might have been discovered by foreign governments but never expected her own to leak her role.

"It was a terrible irony that administration officials were the ones who destroyed my cover," Ms Plame told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.