Scientist’s Death Called a Suicide

The biological weapons expert whose death fanned a political crisis over British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s decision to go to war in Iraq committed suicide by slashing his left wrist, authorities said Saturday.

Police said they found no signs of foul play in the death of David Kelly, an advisor to the Defense Ministry and former weapons inspector for the United Nations in Iraq. His body was found Friday on a rural path near Oxford.

Kelly’s family issued a statement saying his “life had become intolerable” after he was swept up in a clash between the media and the government over allegations that Blair’s case for going to war was based on exaggerated claims about Iraq’s arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. “All those involved should reflect hard and long” on what happened, the family said.

Blair continued an official visit in Japan while preparations began for a judicial inquiry into the case, which is shaping up as one of the most difficult chapters in the prime minister’s career.

At an appearance in Japan, a stone-faced Blair declined to answer a journalist who asked: “Have you got blood on your hands, prime minister? Are you going to resign?” Earlier, Blair praised Kelly’s work as a biological weapons expert and asked for “respect and restraint.”

Parliament member Glenda Jackson said Blair should consider resigning.

“I don’t see how the government is going to be able to function adequately,” said Jackson, a former actress and member of the leftist faction of Blair’s Labor Party, which opposed the war. “This is going to be hanging over the government for the whole period of the judicial inquiry.”

It seems unlikely that Blair, who still dominates British politics, will resign any time soon. But many Britons feel that they were dragged into the war by a hawkish U.S. president. The latest allegations about mendacity in high places endanger Blair’s image as a man of ideals and moral principles, which he burnished in an address to Congress during a brief visit to Washington last week.

The leader of the opposition urged Blair to recall Parliament from summer break to oversee an investigation of information used to argue that Saddam Hussein had unconventional weapons that constituted an urgent menace.

“The tribunal should inquire into the matters arising from the handling of intelligence relating to the war with Iraq and the tragic death of Dr. David Kelly,” said Iain Duncan Smith, leader of the Conservative Party. “The two issues are inseparable.”

The inquiry will be led by a member of the Law Lords, Britain’s highest court. It will determine why Kelly, a 59-year-old father of three and top microbiologist, killed himself.

Friends and family have said Kelly, who played a leading role in the hunt for biological weapons in Iraq, was distressed over his treatment in recent days. Kelly stumbled into the spotlight about two weeks ago after he came forward to say he had been interviewed by a BBC reporter who accused officials of distorting evidence in a report about Iraq’s weapons.

The journalist reported in May that Blair’s communications chief inserted a claim into the dossier that Iraq had lethal weapons that could be unleashed in 45 minutes, despite objections of intelligence officials who were concerned about the validity of the information backing up that charge.

Kelly testified before Parliament that he had discussed the dossier with the reporter, but he denied accusing the communications chief. Kelly said he doubted he was the main source of the report. Friends said Kelly was angry about the experience when he returned home to the village of Southmoor.

He went out for a walk Thursday and, according to police, headed for the woods where he killed himself. He carried a knife and a brand of painkillers that are often used in overdose deaths in Britain, according to police.

“A postmortem has revealed that the cause of death was hemorrhaging from a wound to his left wrist,” said Dave Purnell, acting superintendent of the Thames Valley police. “The injury is consistent with having been caused by a bladed object. We have recovered a knife and an open packet of Co-Proxamol tablets at the scene.”

Purnell said there was no indication of “other parties” being involved in the death.

Stobart reported from London and Rotella from Paris.