Summoning Mr. Tony Blair, Prime Minister of Britain, to the Inquiry Court - 2003-08-11

The British government will dedicate its meeting on Monday, August 11, to examining the case of the death of weapons expert, Mr. David Kelly. Before his death, Mr. Kelly told a BBC reporter that a close associate of Prime Minister Tony Blair had instructed him to exaggerate about Iraq's weapons. Mr. Kelly apparently committed suicide last month after it was revealed that he was the source of a BBC report that generated much discussion. His body was found in South London, and his death was reportedly due to cutting the veins in his wrists. Mr. Tony Blair, who is on holiday in Barbados, will be summoned to the inquiry court to testify regarding Mr. Kelly's death. It is said that the investigation into this case will take months. A British analyst stated that the political future of Mr. Blair and the Labour Party depends on the outcome of this inquiry. Mr. Terence Taylor, a former weapons expert at the UN and a friend of Mr. Kelly, will be invited as the first witness to this session. Mr. Andrew Gilligan, the BBC reporter who reported on the issue raised by Mr. Kelly, will also be summoned to court next month as a witness. Mr. Kelly, the source used by the BBC, claimed that one of Mr. Blair's associates had instructed him to prepare an exaggerated preliminary report regarding the Iraq war to justify the war against Saddam Hussein. Mr. Blair angrily denied the allegation and engaged in an unpleasant verbal conflict with the BBC, which insisted on the accuracy of its report.