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Alistair Campbell To Appear As Witness In David Kelly Suicide
Aired August 17, 2003 - 16:37 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.
FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A public inquiry into the death of scientist David Kelly begins its second week tomorrow. As you may recall, Kelly was the source of a BBC report that questioned the integrity of the government's case for war in Iraq. CNN's Diana Muriel has the update.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alistair Campbell, Prime Minister Tony Blair's Director of Communications, and widely regarded in Britain as a master of political spin, will be appearing as a star witness in a public inquiry into the apparent suicide of weapons expert Dr. David Kelly.
Presided over by Senior Law Lord Brian Hutton, the inquiry heard last week from defense correspondent Andrew Gilligan, who reported on the BBC in May allegations the government had exaggerated information in a prewar intelligence dossier claiming Iraq's weapons of mass destruction could be ready for use in just 45 minutes. In a later article for a Sunday newspaper he claims the communications director had personally demanded the inclusion of this claim in the dossier.
Gilligan's colleague, Susan Watts, told the inquiry she had similar conversations with Dr. Kelly in which Campbell's name was mentioned in this context.
MATT WELLS, MEDIA CORRESPONDENT, "THE GUARDIAN": David Kelly mentioned not just one journalist but to at least one other journalist and on more than one occasion that Alistair Campbell had picked out the 45-minute claim, and whether he'd exaggerated it or inserted it or whatever, he'd certainly seized on this claim as something that could be used to sell the war on Iraq to the British public.
MURIEL: Campbell has always vigorously denied the allegations and is expected to continue to do so to the inquiry. Also up next week, the prime minister's press officer, Tom Kelly -- no relation to the scientist -- who caused a storm when he accused the dead man of having been a Walter Mitty character, a fantasist. He was forced to make a public apology.
The inquiry is looking into how Dr. Kelly came to be called the main source for the BBC story. Just days before his apparent suicide, Kelly was subjected to intense questioning by a parliamentary committee in an appearance ordered by the defense secretary against the advice of his top adviser. Dr. Kelly was found with his wrists slit near his home in the Oxfordshire countryside on July the 18th, just days after his appearance in front of the committee. Diana Muriel, CNN, London.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Suicide>
Aired August 17, 2003 - 16:37 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A public inquiry into the death of scientist David Kelly begins its second week tomorrow. As you may recall, Kelly was the source of a BBC report that questioned the integrity of the government's case for war in Iraq. CNN's Diana Muriel has the update.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alistair Campbell, Prime Minister Tony Blair's Director of Communications, and widely regarded in Britain as a master of political spin, will be appearing as a star witness in a public inquiry into the apparent suicide of weapons expert Dr. David Kelly.
Presided over by Senior Law Lord Brian Hutton, the inquiry heard last week from defense correspondent Andrew Gilligan, who reported on the BBC in May allegations the government had exaggerated information in a prewar intelligence dossier claiming Iraq's weapons of mass destruction could be ready for use in just 45 minutes. In a later article for a Sunday newspaper he claims the communications director had personally demanded the inclusion of this claim in the dossier.
Gilligan's colleague, Susan Watts, told the inquiry she had similar conversations with Dr. Kelly in which Campbell's name was mentioned in this context.
MATT WELLS, MEDIA CORRESPONDENT, "THE GUARDIAN": David Kelly mentioned not just one journalist but to at least one other journalist and on more than one occasion that Alistair Campbell had picked out the 45-minute claim, and whether he'd exaggerated it or inserted it or whatever, he'd certainly seized on this claim as something that could be used to sell the war on Iraq to the British public.
MURIEL: Campbell has always vigorously denied the allegations and is expected to continue to do so to the inquiry. Also up next week, the prime minister's press officer, Tom Kelly -- no relation to the scientist -- who caused a storm when he accused the dead man of having been a Walter Mitty character, a fantasist. He was forced to make a public apology.
The inquiry is looking into how Dr. Kelly came to be called the main source for the BBC story. Just days before his apparent suicide, Kelly was subjected to intense questioning by a parliamentary committee in an appearance ordered by the defense secretary against the advice of his top adviser. Dr. Kelly was found with his wrists slit near his home in the Oxfordshire countryside on July the 18th, just days after his appearance in front of the committee. Diana Muriel, CNN, London.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Suicide>
