LONDON, July 22: The spotlight turned on British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon on Tuesday as the man who authorized the identification of weapons expert Dr David Kelly as the source of the BBC story that claimed the government had exaggerated the case for invading Iraq.

The story triggered a row between the BBC and the government.

The Financial Times newspaper quoted “government insiders” as saying that Mr Hoon had personally allowed the release of Mr Kelly’s name into the public domain.

David Kelly was found dead in a field near his home in the English county of Oxfordshire on Friday, days after being questioned by a foreign affairs committee on his role in the BBC story.

Dr Kelly told the committee that he did not think he was the main source for the story. Kelly apparently committed suicide as one of his wrists had been slit.

An independent inquiry, chaired by a senior law lord, Brian Hutton, is to examine the circumstances surrounding Kelly’s death.

The Financial Times speculates that Mr Hoon may be forced to resign if James Hutton’s inquiry criticizes the treatment Kelly received at the hands of government officials. The defence secretary’s position was further weakened when Prime Minister Tony Blair denied he had any responsibility for releasing Dr Kelly’s identity.

Mr Blair’s office said it had been “consulted” about releasing Dr Kelly’s name, but insisted the ministry of defence had the lead role in deciding procedures concerning David Kelly.

BLAIR WITH CHINESE STUDENTS: British Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to lend a sympathetic ear on Wednesday to calls for more democracy in Hong Kong after getting grilled by Chinese students in Shanghai over the invasion of Iraq.

Mr Blair wrapped up a visit on Tuesday to mainland China, where he tried to strengthen trade ties and saw hope in efforts to kickstart talks to defuse the North Korean nuclear crisis.

But his Far East tour, which included Japan and South Korea, has been overshadowed by the suicide of a British defence expert that has rocked his government and sparked calls for him to quit.

Mr Blair will meet embattled Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa on Wednesday morning, instead of Thursday as originally scheduled, fuelling speculation a powerful typhoon bearing down on the former British colony may force the premier to cut his visit short.

He was also scheduled to meet pro-democracy legislators on Wednesday.

In a tough question-and-answer session on Tuesday, top Chinese students pressed Mr Blair to justify the invasion and about the mysterious death of David Kelly.

Mr Blair defended his decision to attack Iraq and said he had no regrets, adding he had no doubt that Iraq had been developing weapons of mass destruction.

“What you have got to do as a political leader in a democracy is you have got to say this is where I stand, that is what I believe,” Blair told students at Beijing’s elite Tsinghua University.

“If you believe that, you can vote for me; if you don’t believe it, you don’t have to vote for me,” he added.—dpa / Reuters