London — The British Broadcasting Corporation has an audio tape that could back up its disputed report on the Blair government's handling of intelligence on Iraqi weapons, the broadcaster said Wednesday.
The tape is a recording of weapons adviser David Kelly expressing doubts about the way intelligence was presented, and will likely be used as evidence in an inquiry into Mr. Kelly's death, the BBC said on its Web site.
The broadcaster's corporate press office refused to confirm the Web site story, based on a report by the BBC's media correspondent Torin Douglas.
Mr. Kelly was the unidentified official quoted in a BBC report claiming the government exaggerated the threat posed by Iraqi arms.
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He committed suicide last week after officials named him as the possible source for the story.
The audio tape is a recording of a conversation he had with BBC journalist Susan Watts, not the reporter responsible for the original report, the broadcaster said on its Web site.
