Inquiry into British weapons expert's death to take several weeks: govt

LONDON (AFP) Jul 20, 2003
The judicial inquiry into the suicide of the British weapons expert at the centre of a row over the use of intelligence in launching the Iraq war will take several weeks and start as soon as possible, a Ministry of Defence official said Sunday.

"I haven't seen a particular date when it would start, but it is going to be pretty soon.... Basically it would be as soon as possible," Ministry of Defence spokesman Paul Sykes told AFP.

"Regarding the sense of emergency it will probably take weeks rather than months," he added.

However the spokesman emphasised that it will be up to Lord Brian Hutton, who will be heading the independent inquiry, to decide on the parameters of the probe, including its duration and coverage.

The move for an inquiry follows the apparent suicide on Friday of David Kelly, 59, a mild-mannered Ministry of Defence expert on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

The former UN weapons inspector was the anonymous source of a May 29 BBC news report -- hotly denied by Prime Minister Tony Blair's office-- that a key dossier last September on Iraq had exaggerated the threat of Saddam Hussein's arsenal.

Sykes said the inquiry would look at the circumstances surrounding the death of Kelly, who bled to death after apparently slashing his own wrist.

He said Hutton would be free to cover whatever he wished and promised that the Ministry of Defence would offer its full cooperation.

Blair, who has been forced to insist that he will not resign over the affair, said Sunday he was himself ready to appear before the judicial probe.

WAR.WIRE