Pentagon won't fire man accused of budget leak

The Pentagon has reversed a decision to fire John Tillson, the official who was accused of disclosing that President Reagan's five-year rearmament plan would cost $750 billion more than the publicly announced figure of $1.6 trillion.

The Pentagon gave lie detector tests to those who had attended a meeting where the subject was discussed, and decided to fire Mr. Tillson when he failed the test. But defense sources said the department has now decided that his failure to pass the test was not sufficient reason to fire him.

They said he was reprimanded instead on grounds he disregarded Defense Department regulations covering the handling of classified information.