World press laments scientist's death

The recrimination and soul-searching in Britain after the death of Dr David Kelly is reflected in much of the world's press.

Many commentators agree that the weapons expert was the unfortunate victim of a wider dilemma, the consequences of which are still not clear.

Spain's ABC says the scientist's suicide "puts Tony Blair in the worst of scenarios".

It says: "Blair has paid for his support and involvement in the war like no other leader."

Also in Madrid, El Pais accuses Mr Blair - along with Bush and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar - of deception.

"An honest expert has died with Kelly, but not the search for the truth about a war constructed on lies," the paper charges.

Germany's Die Welt sees Dr Kelly's death against a backcloth of what it calls a "tableau of crises and unfulfilled or misleading promises which have overshadowed the Blair project for some time, like a premonition of failure".

According to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, the Ministry of Defence in London "tried to use Kelly as a kind of flash grenade" to "divert attention" from what it says is the real question of far a government which wants to wage war may go to win over the public.

If Bush and Blair went to war together, they will also fall together Al-Watan (Qatar)

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung also believes the British Government tried to turn David Kelly into "a scapegoat".

Die Tageszeitung says both the British Government and the BBC share responsibility for Dr Kelly's death, but the Frankfurter Rundschau rejects the idea that the media are to blame.

The real scandal, it says, is the way in which the government has dealt with what it calls "a supposed truth which cannot be borne out any more".

"The honourable Messrs Tony Blair, Geoff Hoon and some others should quickly leave their posts in order to prevent even greater damage to Britain," the paper says.

Austria's Die Presse describes the affair as "the most serious crisis" in Tony Blair's premiership.

"The ambitious Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, is ready as a successor who believes his time has come," it says.

The Middle East press, consistently opposed to Britain's involvement in the war on Iraq, echoes the crisis theme.

Saudi Arabia's Al-Watan sees Dr Kelly's death as a "confirmation of the political turmoil upset caused by the British Government in following US wishes". The episode, it predicts, "will put Prime Minister Tony Blair in a political crisis such as he has never experienced in the past".

In Lebanon, L'Orient Le Jour says that Tony Blair, who only hours earlier was "shining" at a joint session of the US Congress, "today cannot disguise his weary face" after Dr Kelly's death.

Some Middle East commentators say the affair will have repercussions in the US too.

"If Bush and Blair went to war together, they will also fall together," warns Qatar's Al-Watan.

Iraqi 'curse'

Egypt's Al-Akhbar says "this will be the end of Tony Blair, or the lowest point of his abjectness",

For Oman's Al Watan, "whatever the cause of his death, Dr Kelly was a victim of internal wars in the British institutions".

"Those for whom he worked did not stand by him," the paper charges. "The media showed him no mercy either because they saw him as the only link to the truth... Now the only link to the truth has been severed."

The tragedy in Britain and the continuing mess in Iraq may make both Bush and Blair rue the day they planned their invasion The Hindustan Times

Al-Sharq al-Awsat asks bluntly: "Who killed Kelly?", while Al-Quds al Arabi sees Dr Kelly's death as the latest symptom of "the Iraqi curse which is afflicting all those who conspired against that country".

Iran's Jomhuri-ye Eslami sees Dr Kelly as a hapless victim of "the consequences of the crimes of the American president and the British prime minister".

Also in Tehran, the daily Iran says: "This political earthquake in London will undoubtedly have a serious aftershock in Washington too."

In Pakistan, the daily Dawn also predicts that "shock waves from Kelly's mysterious death will travel across the Atlantic to rattle the other end of the spider's web", while The Nation believes that "for Mr Blair, the ground has become embarrassingly slippery".

In India, The Hindustan Times notes the falling popularity of the US president and the British prime minister.

It says: "The tragedy in Britain and the continuing mess in Iraq may make both the leaders rue the day they planned their invasion."

In China, Beijing's Guangming Ribao says Dr Kelly's death has plunged Blair into "the most serious crisis of his tenure".

Shanghai's Wenhui Bao warns: "If this domestic political crisis is not handled adroitly, it could very possibly become a turning point in Blair's political survival - somewhat similar to when Mrs Thatcher was forced to relinquish power."

Hong Kong's Kung Pao perhaps sums up with a sentiment shared by many other commentators.

"Everyone understands," it says, "that this 59-year-old gentle Oxford scholar was the fall-guy in a political game."

The European press review is compiled by BBC Monitoring from internet editions of the main European newspapers and some early printed editions.<