Blair mourns Iraq expert's 'tragic' death, but sticks to Asia program

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1504&ncid=1504&e=2&u=/afp/20030719/ts_afp/iraq_weapons_britain_030719045627

TOKYO (AFP) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites) called the unexplained death of a British government expert on Iraqi bioweapons a "terrible tragedy," but he insisted an independent inquiry must determine the facts. snip

"Death of the dossier fall guy" was the page-one headline of the right-wing Daily Telegraph, which called on chief government spokesman Alastair Campbell to quit over what it said was Blair's deepest ever crisis. snip

The right-wing Daily Mail attacked the government's treatment of Kelly under the headline "Proud of yourselves?", while the Financial Times described the death as "an immense blow to Tony Blair's government". snip

Blair had hoped his East Asia swing, preceded by a stop in Washington on Thursday to see US President George W. Bush (news - web sites) and address the US Congress on the war on terror, would give him a respite from the Iraq controversy.

With hard evidence of Saddam's feared weapons of mass destruction yet to be found, let alone the deposed Iraqi strongman, more and more Britons have been questioning the morality of having joined the conflict.

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[T_i_B]

1. Yes Blair is in the shit

To think that whilst David Kelly was lying dead in an oxfordshire field Mr Blair was getting his 17th standing ovation from congress. :eyes:

Blair is being well & truly MAULED by the entire UK press and there he is in Japan whilst his government is in a deep crisis. it does not look good. Blair is probbably needed to do a job out there but the possibility of nipping back home ASAP to try and sort of the David Kelly crisis should not be forgotten by Mr Blair either.

[lebkuchen]

2. Tony looks shaken to me

Scared? He seemed like a different person.