Labour MPs bash BBC for role in Kelly's death

The BBC came under fire on Sunday for its part in the death of a British arms expert after confirming he was the source of its report that the government had "sexed up" evidence to justify war on Iraq.

Lawmakers of British Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour Party rounded on the national broadcaster for its conduct during a bitter dispute over its report that the government embellished its intelligence on Iraq's weapons programmes.

The BBC, which had previously refused to name its source, said it was "profoundly sorry" over the death of former UN weapons inspector and defence ministry consultant David Kelly, but stood by its decision to air the report.

"We continue to believe we were right to place Dr Kelly's views in the public domain," it said.

Kelly, 59, was found dead on Friday after apparently committing suicide following a grilling earlier in the week from a parliamentary committee examining the accusations -- hotly denied by Blair's office -- that a key dossier last September on Iraq had exaggerated the threat of Saddam Hussein's arsenal.

While he denied being the primary source for the May 29 BBC story, Kelly admitted briefing Andrew Gilligan, the BBC defence correspondent whose report triggered the furore.

Gilligan, who has come under fire from lawmakers, said Sunday he did not distort what Kelly had told him.

"I want to make it clear that I did not misquote or misrepresent Dr David Kelly," said a BBC statement issued on behalf of Gilligan.

"Entirely separately from my meeting with him, Dr Kelly expressed very similar concerns about Downing Street interpretation of intelligence in the dossier and the unreliability of the 45-minute point to Newsnight," the statement said.

But the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, which has been probing the disupted dossiers, said there was a "fundamental conflict" between the evidence given to the committee by Kelly and Gilligan.

"I think the BBC has got to look at itself long and hard now after Andrew Gilligan's latest evidence to the foreign affairs committee last Thursday," Labour MP Donald Anderson told Sky News.

The BBC, which prides itself for its reputation for rigorous journalistic standards and an independent viewpoint, is no stranger to clashes with the government.

Margaret Thatcher's government criticised the broadcaster's coverage of the Falklands War in 1982, though the BBC stood its ground and retained the support of voters.

Nevertheless, the broadcaster's naming of its source turned some of the glare of the media spotlight away from Blair.