British Prime Minister Tony Blair called today for an end to
speculation over the death of a government scientist who was embroiled in
a row over the Iraq war as the affair threatened to bring huge political
fallout.
The death of defence ministry biologist David Kelly, whose body was
found yesterday, has caused a political storm and raised questions over
the government's handling of the dispute about Iraq's weapons that has
eroded trust in Blair.
"I hope we can set aside the speculation and the claims and the
counter-claims," Blair said in Tokyo at the start of a Far East tour.
He said a judicial inquiry into Kelly's death set up by the government
should be allowed to run its proper course.
"In the meantime all of us, the politicians and the media alike, should
show some respect and restraint," Blair added.
British ministers had identified Kelly as the probable source of a BBC
report that alleged that government officials had "sexed up" evidence of
Iraq's lethal weapons to justify the war.
Kelly denied he was to blame.
His death marked a dramatic twist in a political crisis over Britain's
pre-Iraq war intelligence.
The news of his death hit sterling on international currency markets as
strategists said it further damaged the government's credibility,
undermined by the raging weapons row.
The opposition has called for Blair's resignation, saying he
exaggerated the case for war.
Kelly's death puts a question mark over the future of a top Blair aide,
communications chief Alastair Campbell, and a number of government
ministers who had named Kelly as the likely source of the BBC report.
The affair looked set to overshadow Blair's week-long tour of the Far
East but his spokesman insisted on Saturday that the trip would not be cut
short, as the opposition has demanded.
Blair had hoped to have a break from domestic strife during the tour to
Japan, South Korea, China and Hong Kong.
Kelly was grilled in parliament on Tuesday after admitting he had met a
BBC correspondent who aired the report over the alleged doctoring of
intelligence. But he said he did not believe he was the source for the
story.
Two days after the inquisition, Kelly, visibly uncomfortable in the
media spotlight, went missing. British police said yesterday they had
found a body matching his description. They were not treating his death as
suspicious.
Asked if the government felt any share of the blame for Kelly's death,
Blair's spokesman said the independent inquiry would "look at all these
issues".
Blair said Kelly's death was "an absolutely terrible tragedy" and he
called him "a fine public servant".
The media spotlight immediately turned to Campbell, who was singled out
in the BBC report for exaggerating the threat from Iraq's weapons.
Asked if Campbell had offered his resignation, Blair's spokesman said:
"Not that I am aware of."
- Reuters
