Police today found a body matching the description of a former UN weapons inspector who was dragged into the heart of a row over whether Britain’s government ‘‘sexed up’’, or warped, intelligence to justify war in Iraq. The news swiftly snowballed into a controversy that threatens the credibility of Prime Minister Tony Blair.David Kelly (59), a soft-spoken microbiologist at the UK Defence Ministry who had worked for UN inspectors in Iraq, had been reported missing by his family after he went out for a walk yesterday in a heavy rainstorm.Kelly had been grilled by a panel of MPs on Tuesday after admitting to the ministry that he’d spoken to a BBC reporter. The reporter, Andrew Gilligan, said in May a senior intelligence source told him the government ‘‘sexed up’’ intelligence on Iraq.Gilligan’s report sparked parliamentary hearings into how the government made the case for war, forced Prime Minister Tony Blair on the defensive and pitted government officials against the broadcaster in a heated war of words. Clearly uncomfortable in the spotlight, Kelly had told the foreign affairs committee he had met Gilligan but denied telling him that Blair’s communications chief Alastair Campbell had ordered intelligence to be hyped. The government said it thought Kelly might be Gilligan’s only source, suggesting that differences between his account and Gilligan’s proved the BBC story was wrong. Gilligan has not said whether he had a source for his report other than Kelly. Under questioning from the parliamentary committee, Kelly said he did not believe he was the main source of the story. Committee members appeared to agree, labelling him a government ‘‘fall guy’’.‘‘Dr Kelly is a scientist. He’s not used to the media glare, he is not used to the intense spotlight he was put under, and frankly, even hardened professionals can find that type of pressure hard to cope with,’’ committee member Richard Ottoway, an Opposition conservative politician, told Sky Television. ‘‘At the end we concluded he had been given rather bad treatment by the government. So let us hope nothing sinister has happened here. But it does bring into question exactly what the government thought it was doing by putting him up as a witness on its behalf’’.In Tokyo, a spokesman for Blair, on a visit here, said an independent judicial inquiry would be ordered if Kelly’s death was confirmed.(Reuters)
