British PM Blair told body found near home of missing Iraqi arms expert

LONDON (AFP) Jul 18, 2003
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is on a plane between the United States and Japan, was informed Friday of the discovery of a body near the home of David Kelly, the missing Iraqi weapons expert, Downing Street said.

Two days after facing a parliamentary committee investigating the affair, Kelly told his wife on Thursday afternoon he was going for a walk and never came back.

The 59-year-old has been fingered as the possible source behind a BBC report claiming the British government "sexed up" its dossier on Baghdad's arms capabilities which was used to justify the launch of the war against Iraq in March.

Kelly had denied being the main source for BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan's claim that the government had altered the weapons dossier.

WAR.WIRE