Another Pawn Tossed Aside In Globalist's Game

Dead scientist feared 'dark actors playing games'
Calls for Blair to quit over suicide of weapons expert

Francis Elliott and Colin Brown
Daily Telegraph


Sunday, July 20, 2003


LONDON - Tony Blair was under unprecedented pressure Saturday as the suicide of Dr. David Kelly, the Ministry of Defence weapons expert, plunged his government into its gravest crisis.

A clearly shaken Prime Minister reacted with shock to accusations that he had "blood on his hands'' over the death of Kelly, who police revealed Saturday had slashed his left wrist and bled to death, possibly after taking an overdose of painkillers.

As a former Labour minister led calls for Blair to quit, the mystery of Kelly's death deepened with the revelation that he had sent friends e-mails hours before his death, talking of how he was being haunted by the "many dark actors playing games.''

Kelly's claim, sent in an e-mail to Judith Miller, an American reporter with the New York Times, is certain to become key evidence in the judicial inquiry into the affair announced by Blair. It will be chaired by Lord Hutton, a law lord.

Kelly made it clear that he felt ministers and government officials were responsible for exposing him to the unprecedented public scrutiny his family and friends believe was the cause of his suicide.

Miller said the e-mail she received gave no indication that Kelly, 59, was depressed. In another e-mail exchange on the day of his death, some three hours before he left his home in Oxfordshire to go for a walk, the scientist responded to Professor Alistair Hay, a friend who had expressed the hope that he was dealing with the pressure.

Kelly wrote: "Dear Alistair, many thanks for your support. Hopefully it will soon pass and I can get to Baghdad and get on with the real job. Best wishes, David.''

Hay, an environmental toxicologist at Leeds University, said Saturday: "I find it absolutely extraordinary that David was identified by the MoD (Ministry of Defence). He was being used as a scapegoat.''

Kelly's family spoke for the first time about his suicide, saying that he had been placed under "intolerable pressure'' before his death.

Last week the scientist was questioned forcefully by a Commons select committee over whether he was the source for a BBC report alleging that a dossier on Saddam Hussein's bio-chemical capabilities had been "sexed up'' by the government.

The latest developments will fuel speculation over whether Alastair Campbell, the Prime Minister's director of communications, or Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, forced Kelly's name into the public arena against his wishes. At his appearance before the committee last week, a clearly anxious Kelly denied being the main source for Andrew Gilligan, the defence correspondent of Radio 4's Today program.

After his death, his wife Janice told friends that the pressure of the hearings had led him to believe that this was "not the kind of world he wanted to live in.''

Glenda Jackson, the former Labour transport minister, said Saturday Kelly had been treated "shamefully'' by the government and added that Blair should step down. "The prime minister should really be reconsidering his position,'' she said. "I don't see how the government is going to be able to function adequately. This is going to be hanging over the government for the whole period of the judicial inquiry.''

Blair, who was in Tokyo on Saturday as part of his Far East tour, insisted that the announcement of the inquiry prevented him answering any questions about Kelly's death. In a voice apparently cracking with emotion, Blair spoke of his "deep sorrow'' at events.

Asked whether Kelly's death was on his conscience, the Prime Minister said: "What is important now is some due process. The reason for having an inquiry is so that the facts can be established. I don't think it is right for ourselves or anybody else to make a judgment until we have the facts.''

"It is important for the media and politicians to show some restraint and respect,'' he said.

As the news conference ended, a journalist heckled: "Have you got blood on your hands, prime minister? Are you going to resign over this?'' Blair appeared visibly shaken and did not reply.

A senior BBC editor added: "We were in a war of spin and that poor guy got ripped apart in the middle, so yes, we had a role in it. But the BBC has looked at the way it has handled this entire affair and at this stage we do not believe we could have handled things differently,'' he said.

Iain Duncan Smith, the Conservative leader, demanded that Parliament be recalled to debate the issue. Duncan Smith also called for judicial inquiry to be widened to include how the government handled intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war.

Blair, however, is refusing to cut short his visit to Asia and his official spokesman said it was "business as usual" on Saturday.