Prescott defends Hoon's holiday

Geoff Hoon has been accused of exposing Dr David Kelly

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has defended the defence secretary's decision not to go to the funeral of government weapons expert David Kelly.

Geoff Hoon will be on a family holiday next week when Dr Kelly's funeral service is due to be held at an Oxfordshire church on Wednesday.

Mr Prescott told BBC1's Breakfast with Frost that "everyone has to have their holidays".

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed that in the absence of Mr Hoon and Prime Minister Tony Blair, the government will be represented at the funeral by Mr Prescott.

'Proper recognition'

Dr Kelly is thought to have committed suicide after speculation - later confirmed by the BBC - that he was the source of stories that raised concerns over the way the government presented its case for war with Iraq.

Mr Prescott said: "I will be attending on behalf of the government and properly so.

"I'm representing government, as I often do while the prime minister is away, and it's not unusual for me as the one remaining person at the highest level of government to be attending this funeral.

Dr Kelly was internationally respected as a scientist

"I think the public will recognise that that is proper recognition."

An MoD spokeswoman said the decision to send Mr Prescott to the funeral as the government's representative followed discussions with Dr Kelly's widow, Janice.

She said Mr Hoon had discussed his absence with Mrs Kelly.

Friends and colleagues of Dr Kelly's from the MoD will also attend, she added.

On Friday the judge heading the inquiry into Dr Kelly's death, Lord Hutton, confirmed he would be calling Mr Hoon to give evidence along with Mr Blair and Downing Street communications chief, Alastair Campbell.

Mr Hoon is likely to face questioning by Lord Hutton over how Dr Kelly's name came to be released to journalists.

He has already faced criticism for going to the British Grand Prix two days after the discovery of Dr Kelly's body in woods close to his family home in Oxfordshire.

PM 'confident'

The former Northern Ireland secretary Peter Mandelson has said the prime minister left for his holiday in Barbados confident that the government would be cleared of any wrongdoing by Lord Hutton's inquiry.

In an interview with the Sunday Mirror, he said: "An additional reason for Tony Blair's improved spirits is that he has had a chance to go through the government's evidence.

"Mr Blair has satisfied himself that no government minister or official did wrong in respect of Dr Kelly - but the final word will be Lord Hutton's.

"He will make the ultimate judgment about what happened and the lessons to be learned."