Kelly felt betrayed by defence ministry
Widow tells judicial inquiry
AFP, London
The widow of British weapons scientist David Kelly testified yesterday that her husband felt "betrayed" when the defence ministry allowed him to be named as the source of a BBC report that Prime Minister Tony Blair's government exaggerated the threat of Saddam Hussein's Iraq. "He said several times over coffee, over lunch, over afternoon tea, that he felt totally let down and betrayed," Janice Kelly told the judicial inquiry into the apparent suicide in July of the former UN arms inspector. Kelly, 59, was the source of a BBC report in May -- strongly denied by Blair's office -- that the government "sexed up" a September 2002 intelligence dossier on the threat posed by Iraq to bolster the case for war. Giving evidence via a video link, Mrs Kelly, 58, told judge Lord Brian Hutton that her husband of 36 years was a "workaholic" and dedicated to his job as an expert on weapons of mass destruction, particularly on Iraq. "I think he would have done the whole job for nothing, had he not had to support a wife and family," she said in a calm and collected voice that betrayed no distress or emotion. Asked by inquiry senior counsel James Dingemans about Kelly's mood in January and February, as the US-led war on Iraq loomed, Mrs Kelly said he was tired but "upbeat" ahead of their daughter's wedding. But she added: "There was some trepidation for the war. He believed in it but was sad that we seemed to be moving towards that position." Mrs Kelly said her husband was well used to briefing reporters and that she had overheard him talking to them from time to time from home, although "he was never very long on the phone to these journalists". Earlier testimony at the inquiry revealed that press officers at the defence ministry, for whom Kelly worked as a consultant, did not identify him by name as the source of the BBC report but did drop enough clues for reporters to accurately guess his name in July. Police found Kelly dead with his wrist slit a few days after he was publicly identified as the source. Testifying on August 28, Blair took ultimate responsibility for Kelly's outing but denied that the September dossier was "sexed up" as the BBC alleged, saying he would have resigned if that were true. The inquiry is hearing this week from Kelly's family and friends and from police who found his body in woodlands near his home. Hutton's findings are not due out before late October.
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