Blair aides face grilling over Kelly's death

The forthcoming appearance before the inquiry of some of Blair's closest aides threatens to inflict yet more damage on the Labour leader, whose popularity has tumbled in opinion polls since the death of former United Nations weapons expert David Kelly.

Kelly, who apparently committed suicide in July days after being grilled by two parliamentary committees, was caught up in a row between Downing Street and the BBC over a report that the government embellished the case for war on Iraq.

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This week the judicial inquiry by senior judge Brian Hutton looks set to shed some light on the murky world of government "spinning" -- the practice honed by the ruling Labour Party of giving news a favourable slant.

Among those taking the stand is the "sultan of spin", Blair's director of communications, Alastair Campbell.

The pugnacious former tabloid journalist was accused by a BBC radio journalist of inserting a sensational claim into a government dossier published last September that Iraq could deploy chemical or biological weapons in just 45 minutes.

Campbell, who has resisted calls to resign, is likely to face questions over whether his relentless pursuit of a complaint against the BBC story led to Kelly being exposed as the BBC's source for the controversial report.