Blair's office accused of smearing Kelly

The latest twist in a controversy that has bedevilled Blair came after The Independent newspaper quoted a senior government source as saying scientist David Kelly "was a Walter Mitty".

The comment refers to a shy, daydreaming hero, invented by US writer James Thurber in a 1941 short story, who indulges in an imaginary life of adventure doubling that of his day job as accountant.

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The British newspaper report laid the government open to charges of a deliberate attempt to undermine the reputation of the scientist, whose apparent suicide last month has sparked the biggest political crisis of Blair's career.

Kelly, a Ministry of Defence expert on chemical and biological weapons, and a one-time UN weapons inspector in Iraq, died on July 17.

His apparent suicide came shortly after he was named as the source for a BBC report -- hotly denied by Blair -- alleging that the government had "sexed up" a September dossier on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction in order to make the case for war against Saddam Hussein more compelling. Kelly's funeral is set for Wednesday.

Downing Street admitted that an official did speak to The Independent about Kelly, though it said the conversation was not intended as an official briefing and did not reflect the government's view.

A spokeswoman suggested that comments made by the official may have been "misunderstood".

Initially, a Downing Street spokeswoman had said she did not know from where the Walter Mitty comment originated, but stressed that nobody with either "the prime minister's or anybody else in Downing Street's approval would say such a thing".