LONDON (Reuters) - In the hush of a London courtroom, age-old traditions of government secrecy are being challenged by an elderly judge investigating the death of a softly spoken scientist.
Lord Hutton's inquiry into the death of weapons expert David Kelly, launched less than two months ago, has unexpectedly shone a piercing light onto the inner circle of Prime Minister Tony Blair's government and the shadowy world of intelligence.
In a country where sensitive documents gather dust for 30 years before the public is allowed a first glimpse, the private and urgent exchanges of top Blair aides -- some just a few weeks old -- have been flashed up on courtroom computer screens and posted on the Internet (www.the-hutton-inquiry.org.uk).
Defence intelligence staff have appeared -- one of them speaking anonymously by audio link -- and newspapers have speculated the chief of the Secret Intelligence Service may even be called to account.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/24by7panews/page.cfm?objectid=13390312&method=full&siteid=50143Where's the Independent Council to into Bush's dirty secrets? And you're right, Clinton did much worse to warrant an IC.