Blair hit hard by suicide scandal

[DeathvadeR]

LONDON—A visibly shaken Prime Minister Tony Blair has pleaded for restraint while facing tough questions about "blood on his hands" in the apparent suicide of a leading British government scientist.

Already reeling under the biggest political crisis of his premiership, the pressure on Blair increased significantly yesterday when a respected member of his own Labour party, former cabinet minister Glenda Jackson, called for his resignation.

But perhaps the biggest blow came from the grieving family of David Kelly, a scientist caught up in charges that Blair's office doctored intelligence about Iraq's weapons. They made clear that Blair and his government should consider the role they played in making his life "intolerable."

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