Blair Reacted Quickly to Naming of Iraq Expert

Reuters ^

[Pikamax]

Blair Reacted Quickly to Naming of Iraq Expert Mon August 18, 2003 09:49 AM ET By Dominic Evans LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair called an immediate meeting of his top advisers on hearing that a senior weapons expert had named himself as a possible source for a damning BBC report on Iraq, an inquiry heard on Monday.

The revelation, made by Blair's chief of staff Jonathan Powell, suggests how keen Blair was to rebut the BBC story, which accused the government of exaggerating Iraq's weapons threat to justify its case for war.

Weapons expert David Kelly told the Ministry of Defense on June 30 that he might have been the source for the BBC report, broadcast by defense correspondent Andrew Gilligan.

The Ministry passed the information to Downing Street days later, prompting Blair to act quickly. He called a meeting of top aides on July 7 to discuss how Kelly's admission could be used to rebut Gilligans's report.

"(Senior officials) thought this was an important development," Powell told the inquiry on Monday. "On the face of it, it would have meant the Andrew Gilligan story was indeed elaborated."

The inquiry, under judge Lord Hutton, is examining the events leading to the death of Kelly, who killed himself in July after being thrust into the public spotlight over his role in the affair.

The inquiry is a key test for Blair. His public trust ratings have plunged over the handling of Kelly's death and the failure to find banned weapons in Iraq.

A poll last week showed 41 percent of the British public blame the government for Iraq expert Kelly's death and 68 percent think the government was dishonest over the Iraq war.

The threat from biological and chemical weapons was the main reason London gave for waging a war most Britons opposed.

Blair and Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon are both due to testify to Hutton. Powell told the inquiry that Blair was interested in knowing what Kelly would say if he appeared before parliament's Foreign Affairs committee.

"The Prime Minister asked what were David Kelly's views on weapons of mass destruction and what he would say (if he were summoned)," Powell said.

Blair was told that Kelly supported the war, was convinced that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and that it had tried to conceal them.

However, Powell said, Blair was also warned by one aide that Kelly "might say some uncomfortable things on specific items on which he had views."

Kelly eventually appeared before the committee on July 15, looking deeply uncomfortable in the public spotlight.

He committed suicide two days later, slashing his wrist in a quiet woodland site near his home.