Prime Minister Tony Blair faces a critical test Thursday as he takes the stand at an inquiry into the death of a top British weapons expert who got entangled in a furious dispute over the reasons for waging war in Iraq.

Britain's Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon leaves the Royal Courts of Justice after giving evidence in the inquiry into the death of government weapons expert Dr. David Kelly, in London, Aug 27, 2003. Hoon became the first member of the cabinet to appear before the Hutton Inquiry as the government strives to convince Britons it did not hype the threat posed by Iraq.   [Reuters]

Details of Blair's personal involvement in the scientist's public exposure have slowly come to light.

Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon told the inquiry Wednesday the fateful decision to thrust David Kelly into the limelight days before he killed himself was taken with Blair's approval.

Kelly was found with a slashed wrist last month after being revealed as the suspected source behind a BBC reporter's claim that the government hyped its September 2002 dossier on Iraqi weapons, to make the case for a war most Britons opposed.

Kelly's death, and the failure after the war to find any Iraqi weapons of mass destruction to back up warnings in the dossier, have sent Blair's trust ratings plummeting.

An anti-war protester awaits the arrival of Britain's Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, August 27, 2003.   [Reuters]

This week's latest opinion poll showed 67 percent of those questioned thought his government had deceived the public.

Thursday's tense interrogation could go a long way to dictating his political future, a fact his political opponents have leaped upon.

"Tomorrow the prime minister must cast aside the culture of spin and deceit at the heart of government and come clean about the events and individuals responsible for the naming of Dr. Kelly," Conservative defense spokesman Bernard Jenkin said.

JOB ON LINE

Hoon -- whose job is on the line for his role in the worst crisis of Blair's six-year premiership -- said Wednesday that to avoid allegations of a cover-up, he overruled advice from his top civil servant that he shield the scientist from public view.

"I was certainly aware that the prime minister took essentially the same view that I did," he told the inquiry, citing a message from Blair's chief of staff.

At Hoon's prompting, the mild-mannered weapons expert was grilled by a parliamentary committee on July 15 over his unauthorized meeting with a BBC journalist.

Days after the sometimes hostile session, Kelly was found dead in a scenic area near his home.

His name became public as Blair's right-hand man, media chief Alastair Campbell, conducted a furious battle with the BBC over a report that he had inserted a claim in the dossier that Iraq could launch banned weapons at just 45 minutes' notice.

Blair's government hoped that by putting Kelly forward it could undermine the BBC report. But ministers also feared Kelly, a world expert on chemical and biological weapons, would cast doubt on some of its assertions.

Blair's top intelligence adviser John Scarlett stepped out of the shadows this week to defend the dossier and reject claims that the government inflated intelligence on Baghdad's weapons.

But the inquiry has shown a series of Blair aides pushed for the dossier to be hardened up shortly before its publication.

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