Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=8/11/2003

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=BRITAIN / IRAQ INQUIRY (S)

NUMBER=2-306351

BYLINE=MICHAEL DRUDGE

DATELINE=LONDON

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: An inquiry into the death of a British weapons scientist has begun hearing evidence about his role in a controversy over whether the government exaggerated Iraq's military threat before the war. V-O-A's Michael Drudge reports from London.

TEXT: The inquiry by senior Judge Brian Hutton is probing the circumstances around the death of weapons expert David Kelly, who apparently killed himself last month.

Judge Hutton's first witness was Terence Taylor, who became a friend of Mr. Kelly when they worked together as United Nations weapons inspectors in Iraq.

Later in the week, Judge Hutton expects to call British Broadcasting Corporation reporter Andrew Gilligan, who says Mr. Kelly was his primary source for a controversial story, aired in May, that said a key aide to Prime Minister Tony Blair manipulated intelligence data to overstate Iraq's weapons threat before the war.

Mr. Blair has vigorously denied the allegation. The prime minister is expected to testify before the Hutton inquiry sometime in the coming months. (Signed).

NEB/MWD/MAR