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Investigation Opens Today into Death of British Weapons Expert

Aired August 01, 2003 - 05:37   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: An investigation opens today into the death of the British weapons expert at the center of a bitter dispute over Britain's handling of Iraqi intelligence. The scientist, David Kelly, was found dead with a slit writs two weeks ago.
CNN's Robin Oakley joins us now from London with the latest -- good morning.

ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol, from the royal courts of justice here in central London.

It is a key inquiry which is being opened by Lord Hutton, the former lord chief justice in Northern Ireland, into the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr. Kelly. Dr. Kelly was claimed by the BBC as the main source for their report that the government had doctored an intelligence dossier making the case for war against Saddam Hussein.

He was then outed by his chiefs at the Ministry of Defense when he went to them and confessed that he might have been the source for part of that story. He was grilled by a House of Commons select committee and, as you say, found dead a few days later.

Now, the inquiry being conducted by Lord Hutton is initially into the circumstances surrounding his death. The big question for the government with a lot of people's jobs and a lot of people's reputations on the line, both in the BBC and in the government, the key question is whether Lord Hutton will feel he's got to widen this inquiry into the whole use and misuse of intelligence material by the government in presenting their dossier and making that case for war or whether he will restrict it very narrowly to the circumstances of Dr. Kelly's death -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Robin Oakley reporting live from London.

And when Lord Hune opens that inquiry, of course, we'll go live to London for that. He's expected to do that at 6:00 Eastern. That's this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




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Aired August 1, 2003 - 05:37   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: An investigation opens today into the death of the British weapons expert at the center of a bitter dispute over Britain's handling of Iraqi intelligence. The scientist, David Kelly, was found dead with a slit writs two weeks ago.
CNN's Robin Oakley joins us now from London with the latest -- good morning.

ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol, from the royal courts of justice here in central London.

It is a key inquiry which is being opened by Lord Hutton, the former lord chief justice in Northern Ireland, into the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr. Kelly. Dr. Kelly was claimed by the BBC as the main source for their report that the government had doctored an intelligence dossier making the case for war against Saddam Hussein.

He was then outed by his chiefs at the Ministry of Defense when he went to them and confessed that he might have been the source for part of that story. He was grilled by a House of Commons select committee and, as you say, found dead a few days later.

Now, the inquiry being conducted by Lord Hutton is initially into the circumstances surrounding his death. The big question for the government with a lot of people's jobs and a lot of people's reputations on the line, both in the BBC and in the government, the key question is whether Lord Hutton will feel he's got to widen this inquiry into the whole use and misuse of intelligence material by the government in presenting their dossier and making that case for war or whether he will restrict it very narrowly to the circumstances of Dr. Kelly's death -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Robin Oakley reporting live from London.

And when Lord Hune opens that inquiry, of course, we'll go live to London for that. He's expected to do that at 6:00 Eastern. That's this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Expert>