[Donut]

Originally posted by wellard: Not the conservitive party dirty tricks department again...whatever happened to the prostitute who was uncovering Jeffry Archer? oh she went missing to. [img]graemlins/blueblink.gif[/img]

You may laugh wellard but this is very serious. Blair almost went to pieces during a speech in Tokyo, there is a chance that his Head of Communication, Alistair Campbell (slimy snake) and even the Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon may have to resign. Glenda Jackson has already said that Blair should resign.

Phoney under pressure

Blair under pressure over Kelly death
Prime Minister Tony Blair has faced intense questioning over the death of Iraq weapons expert Dr David Kelly, but says judgment must wait until an inquiry is complete.
He was asked if he had "blood on his hands" during a press conference in Tokyo, where he was meeting his Japanese counterpart on the first leg of a tour of the Far East.

Mr Blair said an independent judicial inquiry into the affair was due to be held and "we should make our judgement after we get the facts".

He called for "respect and restraint" until the full circumstances were known.

Police confirmed on Saturday that a body found at an Oxfordshire beauty spot on Friday is that of Dr Kelly, a Ministry of Defence adviser.


Mr Blair was asked if he had Dr Kelly's death on his conscience, but would only express his "deep sorrow" for the tragedy.

He was also asked if defence secretary Geoff Hoon or his communications chief Alastair Campbell would resign over the affair, but refused to be drawn.

"I don't think it is right for anyone, ourselves or anybody else, to make a judgment until we have the facts," he said.

"The person who can conduct this inquiry is someone who is highly respected and will get to the truth of what has happened."

The BBC's political correspondent Guto Harri said the prime minister looked under "enormous emotional strain and couldn't hide it".

Earlier Mr Blair said he was profoundly saddened for Mr Kelly and his family.

"He was a fine public servant who did an immense amount of good for his country in the past and I'm sure would have done so again in the future," he said.

Dr Kelly, 59, had been caught up in a row between the BBC and the government about the use of intelligence reports in the run-up to the war with Iraq.

A body matching his description was found at 0920 BST in a wooded area at Harrowdown Hill, near Faringdon, after his family had reported him missing on Thursday night. A post mortem examination was carried out overnight on Friday at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

Officials stressed the judicial inquiry would not be the wide-ranging investigation into the run-up to the war urged by opposition MPs. It will be headed by a law lord - Lord Hutton - and is expected to take a matter of weeks not months.

BBC political correspondent Reeta Chakrabarti says it is likely to look at Dr Kelly's contact with journalists, as well as how and why his name got into the public domain. Dr Kelly had earlier this week appeared before the Commons foreign affairs select committee as part of its inquiry into the use of intelligence in the run-up to the war in Iraq.

He told MPs he had spoken to BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan, but denied he was the main source for a story about claims that a dossier on Iraq had been "sexed up" to boost public support for military action.

Commons foreign affairs committee chairman Donald Anderson defended the questioning by MPs. "If it was strong, the criticisms appear to be more directed against the Ministry of Defence, rather than against him," he said. Labour MP Andrew Mackinlay apologised for "any stress" his combative questioning at the hearing had "unintentionally" caused Dr Kelly.

Dr Kelly's local MP Robert Jackson said the BBC should have confirmed that the government adviser was not the main source for the BBC story. "The pressure was significantly increased by the fact the BBC refused to make it clear he was not the source," said the Tory MP for Wantage.

A BBC spokesman said: "We are shocked and saddened to hear what has happened and we extend our deepest sympathies to Dr Kelly's family and friends."

Dr Kelly left his home in Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, about 1500 BST on Thursday, and was reported missing at 2345 BST. His body was found lying on the ground, just a few miles from his home. Police said the case was being treated as an "unexplained death".

TV journalist and family friend Tom Mangold said he had spoken to Mr Kelly's wife, Janice. He said: "She told me he had been under considerable stress.
"She didn't use the word depressed, but she said he was very, very stressed and unhappy about what had happened and this was really not the kind of world he wanted to live in."

Dr Kelly and his wife have three daughters Sian, 32, and 30-year-old twins Rachel and Ellen.


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Interesting the labour MP for Wantage want's to b;ame the BBC. Will these arseholes never accept responsibility.