CLOAK AND DAGGER

Kelly the lightning conductor for power

Tony Blair returns home from a Barbados vacation of sun, sand and barbecued baracuda next Monday to face his own grilling before the steady and spin-free gaze of Lord Hutton. The UK Prime Minister knows it could make him. Or break him.
This is a story about a government scientist called Dr David Kelly. It is a story about the Government and the case for war against Iraq. It is a story about the media and accuracy. It is a story about sexing-up and spin and denials and half-truths and leaks. Most of all, it is a story about power. About how those who have it use it. And what those without it think about it.
Perhaps no one will ever know for sure why government scientist Dr David Kelly killed himself. He left no note, or none that has been published.
So Hutton has to gather as much evidence as possible and make a considered judgment. From what has been seen in the first four days of testimony, one thing is clear. Kelly became a lightning conductor for a lot of other issues, and a focus for a number of very powerful people.