The opening day of the inquiry into the suspected suicide of British weapons expert Dr David Kelly has heard he was a "superb" scientist whose work helped uncover Saddam Hussein's secret germ warfare programme.
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Richard Sambrook, director of News for the
BBC arrives at the high court for the Hutton inquiry |
On the opening day of the inquiry headed by Lord Hutton, Dr Kelly's former colleague Mr Terence Taylor said he had been greatly respected.
Dr Kelly apparently took his own life after being named as the probable source of a BBC story claiming the Government exaggerated its dossier on Iraqi weapons.
Mr Taylor, giving evidence to the inquiry by video link from Australia, described how Dr Kelly - working as a UN weapons inspector in Iraq in the 1990s - played a key role in tracking down Saddam's biological weapons programme at a time when the Iraqis firmly denied its existence.
Mr Taylor said: "His work in Iraq was remarkably successful. He carried the inspection system through during a very difficult period. He was very determined."
He said that Dr Kelly's "superb" work had been recognised by the Government with the award of the Cross of St Michael and St George.
Mr Taylor said that since 1991, Dr Kelly had been involved "more or less full-time" with the issue of Iraq's weapons programmes.
Prior to that he been involved in a project to decontaminate a Scottish island which had been used for anthrax tests during the Second World War.
He had also been part of a joint Anglo-US team which went to Russia following the fall of the Soviet Union to assess their biological weapons programme.
The outcome of the inquiry, which is expected to take some months, could have a major baring on the tenure of Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Dr Kelly was identified as the source of a BBC report claiming the government "sexed up" an intelligence dossier which said Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. Mr Blair told the House of Commons he launch them into Britain in just 45 minutes.
The British government and Mr Blair's handling of the affair before and after Dr Kelly's death has triggered a sharp drop in public support. A YouGov survey published by the Mail on Sundaynewspaper yesterday showed 41 per cent of Britons blamed the government for Dr Kelly's death and 68 per cent believed the government was dishonest.
PA