Former ministers pile pressure on Blair over Kelly affair

BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair was under continued pressure over the death of David Kelly yesterday as his former ministers lined up to criticise his role in the affair.

As Lord Hutton was set to draw up a list of witnesses he believes should be cross-examined at the inquiry into Dr Kelly’s death, the prime minister was warned that Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon must not be “the only one who carries the can”. Mr Hoon, almost certainly top of the senior law lord’s “recall” list which is expected to be revealed at the end of this week, is in the firing line for not telling the inquiry the extent of his role in the strategy to name Dr Kelly.

But former Labour defence minister Doug Henderson said it was clear that Downing Street had played a part in the controversial plan, whereby Dr Kelly’s name became public after a trail of clues from the Ministry of Defence.

Mr Henderson’s remarks followed a broadside by former International Development Secretary Clare Short, who accused No 10 and the MoD of an “abuse of power” which drove the Iraq weapons expert to suicide.

Mr Blair faces a tough time from MPs on tomorrow when he takes his first Prime Minister’s Questions since Dr Kelly was found with his wrist slashed in Oxfordshire woodland on July 18.

But his embattled defence secretary is almost certain to come under pressure from the opposition benches on the Kelly affair when he announces, as expected, a major troop deployment in the Commons today.

Mr Henderson said last night: “If the Government are found to be in error by Hutton, the decisions, or the main decisions have clearly been taken in Downing Street and if not actually there, then they have been a party to the decisions, they have known what’s going on, and if they wanted to change it they could have.

“If Geoff Hoon has to go I think it would be extremely unfair if he was the only person who was in the firing line,” he told the BBC Radio 4 The Westminster Hour programme.