Tony Blair, Under pressure
The British prime minister, Tony Blair, has denied that he authorised the leaking of the name of the government scientist at the centre of the Iraq dossier row.
Speaking en route to Hong Kong from Beijing, Mr Blair said his government had acted properly throughout.
The affair will be the subject of a judicial enquiry, which will try to establish how Dr David Kelly's name came to be made public.
Dr Kelly's body was found near his Oxfordshire home last week.
The BBC later admitted he was the source of a story suggesting the government exaggerated the threat posed by Iraqi weapons.
Blair losing public support: poll
Meanwhile, the Blair administration is losing public support because of the Iraq dossier affair and the death of Dr Kelly, according to a new poll.
An ICM poll published in today's Guardian shows Labour's lead over the Conservatives has narrowed to just two points.
This compares with a 12-point advantage in the same poll two months ago.
The ICM poll was carried out last Friday and Saturday after the death of the weapons expert.
It shows Labour down to 36% while the Conservatives remain unchanged on 34%.
The Liberal Democrats are up one point to 22%.
The prime minister's personal approval rating - which has been on the way down since the end of the Iraq war - plunged a further four points last month.
In the immediate aftermath of the war Mr Blair's personal approval rating was benefiting from the so-called Baghdad Bounce.
There is more bad news for the prime minister in the results of a Mori poll in the Sun which suggests that a quarter of voters who supported Labour at the last election have switched to another party.
That poll suggests that most of those who have deserted Mr Blair have done so because of a lack of trust in his government's ability to improve public services.
