London, July 22: Britain's embattled prime minister Tony Blair saw his support among voters further eroded today as the row over a government dossier used to justify war in Iraq took on a new twist. In a front page article, The Independent newspaper said Blair's office had overruled a request by defence chiefs not to reveal the identity of weapons expert David Kelly.
The microbiologist apparently committed suicide last Friday after the Ministry of Defence (MoD) revealed he was probably the source of a BBC report that claimed the government's dossier on Iraq was "sexed-up".
MoD sources told The Independent that Downing Street forced the ministry to reveal on July 9 that Kelly was probably the BBC's source.
"There was a feeling at very high level that we (the mod) must do our utmost to protect" Kelly, an unnamed government official told the paper.
The Independent's story appeared to contradict comments made by Blair's official spokesman that the public naming of Kelly was overseen by high-ranking defence officials.
"We were consulted, and the MoD was the lead department and remained the lead department," the spokesman was quoted as saying in The Independent.
Speaking yesterday in China as he continued an east Asia tour, Blair promised to "fully cooperate" with an independent judicial inquiry set up to establish the facts surrounding the death of Kelly. Bureau Report