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CNN Saturday Morning News
Police Expected to Confirm British Scientist's Death
Aired July 19, 2003 - 08:04 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We turn our attention now to a deepening mystery involving a man at the center of the Iraq intelligence controversy. He's a British scientist by the name of David Kelly who went missing a few days ago. Now authorities believe he is dead and they think they have found his body.
The latest on this now from CNN's Robin Oakley in London -- good morning to you, Robin.
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
It's a tangled and complicated story, this, but it's one that's causing deep political trouble for Tony Blair and his government. We're expecting confirmation from the police in about an hour from now that the body found in the Oxfordshire woods is that of Dr. David Kelly, an adviser to the Ministry of Defense, and a weapons expert.
He came forward a while ago and put himself at the center of a spat between the government and the British Broadcasting Corporation, the public service broadcaster, which had alleged the government sexed up the dossier it was preparing against Saddam Hussein by inserting the claim that he had weapons of mass destruction he could use within 45 minutes.
The government has been denying that claim. The BBC had one particular source and one particular reporter claimed to have one particular source for that story. Dr. David Kelly came forward, confessed he might be the source. He was grilled vigorously by a House of Commons investigative committee, which concluded he probably wasn't the source. But it seems that the strain of being at the center of so much attention and being in the middle of this battle between the government and the BBC has been too much for Dr. David Kelly and there are suspicions that he has taken his own life -- Heidi.
COLLINS: You know, I'd like to ask you, Robin, if Dr. Kelly, if that hearing actually determined that he was not the source of this information, who are we talking about as far as being at risk here politically?
OAKLEY: Well, we still don't know who is the source of the information. But this is causing massive political trouble for Tony Blair and dogging him as he goes around the world. He has now announced that there's going to be a judicial inquiry into the circumstances of Dr. Kelly's death, which may throw more light on the source, and Tony Blair has had to justify that judicial inquiry against claims that he's using it to buy time. But this is how he defended the decision to launch a judicial inquiry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I totally understand why you would like me to go back into what I've said earlier, but I'm not going to do that because I think what is important now is that there is some due process. And the reason for having an inquiry, and I think people would have expected us to have one because of the tragedy that's occurred, is so that the facts can be established. And I don't think it's right for anyone, ourselves or anybody else, to make a judgment until we have the facts. And the person who can conduct this inquiry is somebody who is highly respected and will get to the truth of what has happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OAKLEY: An appeal for restraint there from Tony Blair. But he is in the firing line. Particularly in the firing line is Jeff Hume, the minister of defense in Britain, who pushed forward Dr. Kelly as a potential source for the BBC and also very much in the firing line, Alistair Campbell, Tony Blair's right hand man and communications chief in Ten Downing Street. A lot of pressure from the opposition for him to resign and for Tony Blair to break off his world tour and come home and face the music -- Heidi.
COLLINS: A lot more to come on this story, I am certain of that.
Robin Oakley live from London this morning.
Thanks so much.
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 19, 2003 - 08:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We turn our attention now to a deepening mystery involving a man at the center of the Iraq intelligence controversy. He's a British scientist by the name of David Kelly who went missing a few days ago. Now authorities believe he is dead and they think they have found his body.
The latest on this now from CNN's Robin Oakley in London -- good morning to you, Robin.
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
It's a tangled and complicated story, this, but it's one that's causing deep political trouble for Tony Blair and his government. We're expecting confirmation from the police in about an hour from now that the body found in the Oxfordshire woods is that of Dr. David Kelly, an adviser to the Ministry of Defense, and a weapons expert.
He came forward a while ago and put himself at the center of a spat between the government and the British Broadcasting Corporation, the public service broadcaster, which had alleged the government sexed up the dossier it was preparing against Saddam Hussein by inserting the claim that he had weapons of mass destruction he could use within 45 minutes.
The government has been denying that claim. The BBC had one particular source and one particular reporter claimed to have one particular source for that story. Dr. David Kelly came forward, confessed he might be the source. He was grilled vigorously by a House of Commons investigative committee, which concluded he probably wasn't the source. But it seems that the strain of being at the center of so much attention and being in the middle of this battle between the government and the BBC has been too much for Dr. David Kelly and there are suspicions that he has taken his own life -- Heidi.
COLLINS: You know, I'd like to ask you, Robin, if Dr. Kelly, if that hearing actually determined that he was not the source of this information, who are we talking about as far as being at risk here politically?
OAKLEY: Well, we still don't know who is the source of the information. But this is causing massive political trouble for Tony Blair and dogging him as he goes around the world. He has now announced that there's going to be a judicial inquiry into the circumstances of Dr. Kelly's death, which may throw more light on the source, and Tony Blair has had to justify that judicial inquiry against claims that he's using it to buy time. But this is how he defended the decision to launch a judicial inquiry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I totally understand why you would like me to go back into what I've said earlier, but I'm not going to do that because I think what is important now is that there is some due process. And the reason for having an inquiry, and I think people would have expected us to have one because of the tragedy that's occurred, is so that the facts can be established. And I don't think it's right for anyone, ourselves or anybody else, to make a judgment until we have the facts. And the person who can conduct this inquiry is somebody who is highly respected and will get to the truth of what has happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OAKLEY: An appeal for restraint there from Tony Blair. But he is in the firing line. Particularly in the firing line is Jeff Hume, the minister of defense in Britain, who pushed forward Dr. Kelly as a potential source for the BBC and also very much in the firing line, Alistair Campbell, Tony Blair's right hand man and communications chief in Ten Downing Street. A lot of pressure from the opposition for him to resign and for Tony Blair to break off his world tour and come home and face the music -- Heidi.
COLLINS: A lot more to come on this story, I am certain of that.
Robin Oakley live from London this morning.
Thanks so much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
