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Dead scientist praised at inquiry
LONDON, England -- The inquiry into the death of British government weapons adviser David Kelly has heard that he was a "superb" scientist whose work helped uncover Saddam Hussein's secret germ warfare program. On the opening day of the inquiry in London, headed by leading judge Lord Hutton, Kelly's former colleague Terence Taylor said he had been greatly respected by experts in both Britain and the United States. Taylor, of the International Institute of Strategic Studies in Washington, was giving evidence Monday via videophone from Australia. CNN's European Political Editor Robin Oakley said that the first day of the inquiry was a "scene setter," with evidence about Kelly's character and expertise. Hutton's inquiry, which is likely to last for months, has emerged as a key test of Blair's leadership and the integrity of the BBC, Britain's public broadcaster. "You could say he (Hutton) holds the fate of the government in his hands," Vernon Bogdanor, professor of government at Oxford University, told Reuters. Kelly apparently took his own life after being named as the probable source of a BBC story alleging that the government had "sexed up" a dossier on Iraqi weapons in order to strengthen the case for war. Taylor described how Kelly -- working as a United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq in the 1990s -- had played a key role in tracking down Saddam's biological weapons program when the Iraqis denied its existence. "His work in Iraq was remarkably successful. He carried the inspection system through during a very difficult period," said Taylor. He said that Kelly's "superb" work had been recognized by the British government with the award of the Cross of St Michael and St George. Taylor said that since 1991, Kelly had been involved "more or less full-time" with the issue of Iraq's weapons programs and he had visited Iraq 35 times. Before that he had helped to decontaminate a Scottish island used for anthrax tests during the World War II and had been part of a joint Anglo-U.S. team which went to Russia following the fall of the Soviet Union to assess its biological weapons program. Taylor said: "He was able to absorb very large amounts of information and process and analyze it in a way that was very impressive."
Among Hutton's early witnesses will be BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan, who reported in May that a pre-war intelligence dossier on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction was spiced up after pressure from Blair's officials. Gilligan made the claim one week after meeting Kelly at a London hotel. His BBC bosses, who initially said Gilligan's story came from a senior intelligence source, last month confirmed Kelly was the source of the report. Gilligan will have to explain why Kelly told the committee he did not recognize his words in the BBC report. Hutton has said he wants to find out how Kelly's name was made public after he told his superiors that he had met Gilligan to discuss Iraq. "Star" witnesses like Blair, UK Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon and BBC chief Greg Dyke, are due to be called at a later date. Gilligan is due to testify Tuesday, along with BBC reporter Susan Watts.
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