Long wait for nervous Blair as inquiry ends

British Prime Minister Tony Blair faces months of uncertainty after the judge leading a probe into the death of an Iraq weapons expert said his final report may not be ready until December.

The judicial inquiry into the death of scientist David Kelly, at the heart of a vitriolic row over the Government's justification for war in Iraq, has torpedoed the trust ratings of the once unassailable Blair in the Government's worst crisis.

Concluding the final day of his two-month inquiry, which opened with a withering attack by Kelly's family on the "duplicity" of Blair's Government, Lord Hutton said his report might not be ready before December.

Kelly was found dead with a slit wrist in a field near his home in July, days after being exposed as the source of a BBC report claiming the Government had knowingly "sexed up" a dossier on Iraq's illegal weapons to woo a sceptical public.

Hutton has warned that no one can assume immunity from criticism in his report, which could address doubts over Blair's justification for the Iraq war, questions over the Government's treatment of Kelly and over BBC reporting.

Geoff Hoon, the Secretary of State for Defence, was described as a liar and a hypocrite by the lawyer for the Kelly family.

Jeremy Gompertz, QC, accused the Government of treating the weapons expert as a pawn in its bitter dispute with the BBC.

He said Hoon had been an "enthusiastic supporter" of naming Kelly as the BBC's source and accused him of a "cynical abuse of power" in the Ministry of Defence's treatment of him in the days leading up to his death.

Gompertz said it was not the Kelly family's aim to seek "revenge or individual scapegoats". But they wanted lessons to be learnt and to expose the "duplicity" of the Government and the "systematic failures" of the ministry.

He dismissed as "risible" a claim by Richard Hatfield, the ministry's personnel director, that the scientist had been given "outstanding" support and accused him of trying to portray Kelly as the author of his own misfortune.

Gompertz said: "The Government and the nation have lost their greatest expert in biological weapons of mass destruction, yet he was characterised by his employers to suit their needs of the hour as a middle-ranking official and used as a pawn in their political battle with the BBC."

Andrew Caldecott, QC, for the BBC, acknowledged mistakes in its reporting, but accused Hoon of cynical indifference in his failure to correct press reports suggesting Iraq could deploy longer-range weapons within 45 minutes when it related only to battlefield weapons.

Government lawyer Jonathan Sumption denied the charges. "The Government is not and never has been engaged in a crusade against the BBC," he said in closing remarks which also sharply criticised the public broadcaster.

Counsel for the inquiry James Dingemans said that, at least on one occasion, Blair's outgoing media aide Alastair Campbell appeared to let the feud with the BBC cloud his judgment when he gave an emotional interview to a rival television broadcaster.

"It was perfectly apparent that perspective had been lost, " he told Hutton. "Your lordship will have to consider whether or not that loss of perspective was restricted to either side."

- INDEPENDENT