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CNN Live At Daybreak
Former British Weapons Expert Will be Buried Today
Aired August 06, 2003 - 06:07 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: It just won't go away for Tony Blair. The former British weapons inspector, David Kelly, will be buried a few hours from now, but the controversy he sparked is very much alive.
Live to Longworth, England, now and Robin Oakley.
Hello -- Robin.
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN SENIOR EUROPEAN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.
Well, Dr. David Kelly, of course, became the centerpiece of the huge row between the British Broadcasting Corporation, the public service broadcaster, and the government over BBC claims that the government had doctored an intelligence dossier making the case for war against Saddam Hussein. Dr. Kelly was claimed, after his death, by the BBC as its main source for those reports. And he was, of course, found dead, presumably by his own hand, on Harrowdown Hill, just a couple of miles away from where I'm speaking to you now, on July the 17th, after he had been grilled by a House of Commons investigative committee.
Now, two and a half miles down the lane the other way, Dr. Kelly's funeral will take place today. It's a private affair for his widow, Janice, his three daughters, their family and friends, though there's not going to be a media presence at that funeral. It's being kept very much as a private affair.
But John Prescott, Tony Blair's deputy, the deputy prime minister, will attend on behalf of the British government. There has been some controversy over the fact the British defense secretary, Dr. David Kelly's immediate boss, is not attending, but he will be a figure of some controversy at the inquiry, the judicial inquiry, that will resume on Monday into the circumstances surrounding Dr. Kelly's death.
And there was an unfortunate political prelude to this funeral with Tom Kelly, unrelated to Dr. David Kelly, one of the government's spokesmen, talking to journalists over the last few days and suggesting that Dr. Kelly was a "Walter Mitty" figure, who rather fantasized about his importance in the whole affair. He's now had to make an unreserved apology to Dr. Kelly's family on the eve of the funeral, and the apology was echoed also by Mr. Prescott, the deputy prime minister -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And, Robin, we understand that Tony Blair is out of the country, as is Geoff Hoon. On purpose or just a scheduled holiday?
OAKLEY: No, scheduled holidays for both of them. And in Tony Blair's case, I don't think anybody would be expecting him necessarily to turn up at the funeral, certainly so long as there is a senior government representative that would be considered reasonable.
Geoff Hoon, it's a much more controversial question in the British media whether he should have broken his holiday and been here as Dr. Kelly's superior in the Ministry of Defense. But, of course, that could have added an unfortunate political dimension to the funeral, given that there are accusations that Dr. Kelly's bosses in the Defense Department, led by Geoff Hoon, were those responsible for outing him, for bringing him into the public domain after he confessed to them that he might have been the source of the controversial BBC story -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Robin Oakley live from Longworth, England, 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.
Aired August 6, 2003 - 06:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It just won't go away for Tony Blair. The former British weapons inspector, David Kelly, will be buried a few hours from now, but the controversy he sparked is very much alive.
Live to Longworth, England, now and Robin Oakley.
Hello -- Robin.
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN SENIOR EUROPEAN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.
Well, Dr. David Kelly, of course, became the centerpiece of the huge row between the British Broadcasting Corporation, the public service broadcaster, and the government over BBC claims that the government had doctored an intelligence dossier making the case for war against Saddam Hussein. Dr. Kelly was claimed, after his death, by the BBC as its main source for those reports. And he was, of course, found dead, presumably by his own hand, on Harrowdown Hill, just a couple of miles away from where I'm speaking to you now, on July the 17th, after he had been grilled by a House of Commons investigative committee.
Now, two and a half miles down the lane the other way, Dr. Kelly's funeral will take place today. It's a private affair for his widow, Janice, his three daughters, their family and friends, though there's not going to be a media presence at that funeral. It's being kept very much as a private affair.
But John Prescott, Tony Blair's deputy, the deputy prime minister, will attend on behalf of the British government. There has been some controversy over the fact the British defense secretary, Dr. David Kelly's immediate boss, is not attending, but he will be a figure of some controversy at the inquiry, the judicial inquiry, that will resume on Monday into the circumstances surrounding Dr. Kelly's death.
And there was an unfortunate political prelude to this funeral with Tom Kelly, unrelated to Dr. David Kelly, one of the government's spokesmen, talking to journalists over the last few days and suggesting that Dr. Kelly was a "Walter Mitty" figure, who rather fantasized about his importance in the whole affair. He's now had to make an unreserved apology to Dr. Kelly's family on the eve of the funeral, and the apology was echoed also by Mr. Prescott, the deputy prime minister -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And, Robin, we understand that Tony Blair is out of the country, as is Geoff Hoon. On purpose or just a scheduled holiday?
OAKLEY: No, scheduled holidays for both of them. And in Tony Blair's case, I don't think anybody would be expecting him necessarily to turn up at the funeral, certainly so long as there is a senior government representative that would be considered reasonable.
Geoff Hoon, it's a much more controversial question in the British media whether he should have broken his holiday and been here as Dr. Kelly's superior in the Ministry of Defense. But, of course, that could have added an unfortunate political dimension to the funeral, given that there are accusations that Dr. Kelly's bosses in the Defense Department, led by Geoff Hoon, were those responsible for outing him, for bringing him into the public domain after he confessed to them that he might have been the source of the controversial BBC story -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Robin Oakley live from Longworth, England, 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.
