An "abuse of power" helped drive scientist
David Kelly to his death, former cabinet minister Clare Short said
today.
As law Lord Hutton prepared to begin his inquiry into
the circumstances surrounding Dr Kelly's apparent suicide, Short
said that it was vital to learn the truth not only about the death,
but also about the government's decision to go to war in Iraq.
She told the Independent: "We must deal with Dr Kelly and the
abuse of power that helped drive him to his death, but we must also
deal with the questions of how we went to war in Iraq and how much
half-truth and deceit there was on the way."
Lord Hutton has been asked to carry out an inquiry into the death
of Kelly, whose body was found on July 18 near his Oxfordshire home,
days after he was named as the probable source for a BBC report
questioning the Government's case for Iraq possessing weapons of
mass destruction.
Short, who quit the Cabinet shortly after the war ended, today
warned of the danger that Kelly's death would come to symbolise to
the administration of Prime Minister Tony Blair.
She said: "I said spin would damage and destroy Tony. There is a
danger the tragedy of this death encapsulates the argument and then
everyone sees it through this lens.
"Public confidence has changed enormously.
It has deepened the sense there is something wrong in the way in
which Number 10 is run.
There is more scrutiny of that, so that damages Tony Blair's
reputation."
Short was scathing about Ministry of Defence claims that normal
procedures were followed when officials confirmed Kelly's identity
to journalists.
"Normally if a civil servant talks to the press, you have a leak
inquiry," she said.
"There would be no notion of a civil servant being named and
thrown into the public arena, a media frenzy and a select committee.
"So, normal procedures were breached.
It is very difficult to say that was not for political purposes
and that is very serious."
Short said that she blamed not only Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon,
but also Downing Street communications director Alastair Campbell,
for the identification of Kelly.
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