Government weapons adviser David Kelly was a superb scientist whose work helped uncover former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's secret germ-warfare program, a former colleague said yesterday as he testified on the first day of a judicial inquiry into Kelly's suicide.
Terence Taylor of the International Institute of Strategic Studies in Washington said Kelly had been greatly respected by experts in both Britain and the US.
"His work in Iraq was remarkably successful," said Taylor of the former UN weapons inspector, who was caught up in a row over the government's use of intelligence in the build up to war in Iraq. "He was very determined."
Taylor added that Kelly had been awarded the Cross of St. Michael and St. George by Queen Elizabeth II for his "superb" work. That honor came in 1996 on the recommendation of the former Conservative government of John Major.
The inquiry, headed by senior appeals judge Lord Hutton, will probe the circumstances behind Kelly's suicide last month and the government's use of intelligence on Iraqi weapons.
The judge has said he intends to call Prime Minister Tony Blair and Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon to testify.
Kelly was found dead in woodland near his home in Abingdon, southern England, on July 18. He had slashed his left wrist.
Kelly, an adviser to Britain's defense ministry, was identified as the source of a BBC report that raised questions about Blair's case for war in Iraq.
The report, broadcast on May 29, quoted an unidentified source as saying Blair's office had "sexed up" an intelligence dossier on Iraqi weapons to bolster the case for war.
Specifically, the report claimed Blair's office had, against the wishes of intelligence chiefs, included a claim that Saddam could deploy chemical and biological weapons at 45 minutes' notice.
The report, vehemently denied by the government, sparked a bitter row with the broadcaster and prompted two parliamentary probes into the government's use of intelligence.
Kelly's name leaked out after weeks of public squabbling between the government and the broadcaster. He killed himself three days after facing tough questioning by lawmakers conducting one of the probes.
The uproar over Kelly's suicide has become the severest test for Blair since he took office six years ago.
One aspect of Hutton's inquiry is the role played by the government in naming Kelly as the source of the BBC story.
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