Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
Saddam's Sons Killed: Tony Blair's Reaction
Aired July 23, 2003 - 06:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush isn't the only world leader reacting positively to the deaths of Saddam's boys; the British prime minister is, too. Tony Blair, speaking from Hong Kong, is heralding the deaths of Uday and Qusay Hussein.
Live to Hong Kong now and CNN's Andrew Brown.
Andrew -- do you think that this will resonate as much with the British public?
ANDREW BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it certainly went down very well with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Although he didn't exactly say that he welcomed the news, he was very upbeat about it. And he said that for Iraqi people the -- quote -- "yoke of fear" -- unquote -- is now lifting and the terror is ending.
Blair has been here speaking to business leaders, and he made a point of taking time out of his speech, which was about local political reforms, to stress that he was pleased about the news on Saddam Hussein's sons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: This is a great day for the new Iraq. These two particular people were at the head of a regime that wasn't just a security threat because of its weapons program, but was responsible, as we can see from the mass graves, for the torture and killing of thousands and thousands of innocent Iraqis. And the celebrations that are taking place are an indication of just how evil they were.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Carol, Tony Blair has his own Iraq-related problems. He's flying back to London from Hong Kong tonight. He and his government are accused of discrediting and betraying a British weapons expert over the war in Iraq. The expert was named as a source in a news story, which said the British government had inflated Iraq's weapons capability to justify British participation in the Iraq war.
Back to you -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I don't know if you can answer this right now because Tony Blair is not actually in Britain right now. But do you think that this might help him with his image back at home?
BROWN: Actually, I think at the moment the British public is probably very focused on what's going on with the British weapons expert, who tragically was found dead near his home last week, David Kelly. There's a judicial inquiry that's coming up about this, Carol. And the BBC, which is the broadcaster that was involved in that story about Kelly, where he allegedly said that the British government had inflated the weapons capability claims, the BBC now says that it has a tape of what Kelly said to them about Iraq.
Of course, it's been a big dispute, and when we hear this tape, when it's presented to the inquiry, we'll know more about the truth. I think people are tantalized by that at the moment much more than they are about the news out of Iraq.
COSTELLO: All right, Andrew Brown live from Hong Kong this morning. Many thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired July 23, 2003 - 06:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush isn't the only world leader reacting positively to the deaths of Saddam's boys; the British prime minister is, too. Tony Blair, speaking from Hong Kong, is heralding the deaths of Uday and Qusay Hussein.
Live to Hong Kong now and CNN's Andrew Brown.
Andrew -- do you think that this will resonate as much with the British public?
ANDREW BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it certainly went down very well with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Although he didn't exactly say that he welcomed the news, he was very upbeat about it. And he said that for Iraqi people the -- quote -- "yoke of fear" -- unquote -- is now lifting and the terror is ending.
Blair has been here speaking to business leaders, and he made a point of taking time out of his speech, which was about local political reforms, to stress that he was pleased about the news on Saddam Hussein's sons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: This is a great day for the new Iraq. These two particular people were at the head of a regime that wasn't just a security threat because of its weapons program, but was responsible, as we can see from the mass graves, for the torture and killing of thousands and thousands of innocent Iraqis. And the celebrations that are taking place are an indication of just how evil they were.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Carol, Tony Blair has his own Iraq-related problems. He's flying back to London from Hong Kong tonight. He and his government are accused of discrediting and betraying a British weapons expert over the war in Iraq. The expert was named as a source in a news story, which said the British government had inflated Iraq's weapons capability to justify British participation in the Iraq war.
Back to you -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I don't know if you can answer this right now because Tony Blair is not actually in Britain right now. But do you think that this might help him with his image back at home?
BROWN: Actually, I think at the moment the British public is probably very focused on what's going on with the British weapons expert, who tragically was found dead near his home last week, David Kelly. There's a judicial inquiry that's coming up about this, Carol. And the BBC, which is the broadcaster that was involved in that story about Kelly, where he allegedly said that the British government had inflated the weapons capability claims, the BBC now says that it has a tape of what Kelly said to them about Iraq.
Of course, it's been a big dispute, and when we hear this tape, when it's presented to the inquiry, we'll know more about the truth. I think people are tantalized by that at the moment much more than they are about the news out of Iraq.
COSTELLO: All right, Andrew Brown live from Hong Kong this morning. Many thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
