Blair, Hoon to Be Called to Testify over Kelly's Death

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, August 02, 2003

Blair, Hoon to Be Called to Testify over Kelly's Death

Lord Hutton said on Friday that he would call Prime Minister Tony Blair and Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon to give evidence during the inquiry over the death of government arms expert David Kelly.

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Lord Hutton said on Friday that he would call Prime Minister Tony Blair and Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon to give evidence during the inquiry over the death of government arms expert David Kelly.

Kelly died of apparent suicide two weeks ago after being brought to the spotlight as the possible source of a disputed BBC report which claimed Downing Street had "sexed up" an intelligence dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction in the run-up to the Iraq War.

"At some stage in the course of the inquiry, I propose to ask the prime minister and the Secretary of State for Defense Mr. Geoff Hoon to give evidence of their knowledge of the discussions that took place and the decisions which were taken in relation to Dr. Kelly," said Hutton when opening the inquiry on Friday.

The Law Lord told a preliminary hearing that his task was to investigate the circumstances surrounding Kelly's death, quickly and fairly.

"I should emphasize that this is an inquiry to be conducted by me," Hutton said. "It is not a trial conducted between interested parties who have conflicting cases to advance. I do not sit to decide between conflicting cases, I sit to investigate the circumstances surrounding Dr. Kelly's death," Hutton said.

He said he would also ask Blair's communications director Alastair Campbell to give evidence and explore how BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan compiled his report based on the Kelly interview, and how the Defense Ministry came to name Kelly as the possible source for the story.

Hutton also revealed that Kelly's body had been found with four electrocardiogram pads on his chest, one of the mysteries of the case he wished to unravel.

As a former Lord Chief Justice in Northern Ireland, Lord Huttonis regarded as a highly experienced judge who is also familiar with politically sensitive issues.

After the opening remarks, the inquiry is due to be put on holduntil after Kelly's funeral, set for next Wednesday near his home in Oxfordshire, central England.

British media said the inquiry's findings would be reported before the end of this year.

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