BRITAIN: Any hopes the British Prime Minister had that his travails over the death of government scientist Dr David Kelly might recede this month vanished yesterday.
A Downing Street spokesman, Mr Tom Kelly, faced calls to be sacked after he referred to Dr Kelly as a Walter Mitty character - a reference to the literary figure who lived in a fantasy world of his own making, created in 1941 by James Thurber, author of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
Mr Kelly denied attempting to smear the dead scientist - the prime source for BBC claims that intelligence on Iraq was "sexed up".
However, he admitted that speaking to a journalist about the case was a "mistake", and apologised "unreservedly" to Dr Kelly's family.
Mr Kelly's remarks, which come ahead of the weapons expert's funeral tomorrow, sparked fury among his family and friends. One, Prof Alastair Hay, called them "heartless in the extreme".
"This is a time of great trauma for the Kelly family, and the comments should never have been made," he said.
"I'm very surprised by the whole thing. It's deeply shaming."
Former Labour minister Ms Glenda Jackson called the apology "insufficient", and said the spokesman must go.
"No 10's capacity to disgust us would seem positively boundless," said Ms Jackson, who has already called on Mr Blair to resign over the death of Dr Kelly.
Dr Kelly, who worked for the British Ministry for Defence, apparently slashed his wrist at a beauty spot after being exposed as a mole during the battle between Downing Street and the BBC.
Mr Blair has called for "respect and restraint" during the inquiry into his death headed by Lord Hutton, who ruled yesterday that his hearings would not be televised.
But an anonymous senior official at No 10 was quoted in several British newspapers yesterday comparing Dr Kelly to the fictional fantasist. "This guy was a Walter Mitty," the source told the paper.
Mr Kelly confirmed he used the term in what he called a private conversation. "It was meant as one of several questions facing all parties, not as a definitive statement of my view, or that of the government," he said in a statement issued by No 10.
"We were discussing questions, not answers. I now recognise that even that limited form of communication was a mistake given the current climate.
"I, therefore, unreservedly apologise to Dr Kelly's widow and her family for having intruded on their grief."