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A Leonardo da Vinci painting estimated to be worth £40m was stolen

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A Leonardo da Vinci painting estimated to be worth £40m was stolen from a Scottish castle yesterday. Two thieves, posing as visitors, overpowered a woman guide at the Duke of Buccleuch's Drumlanrig Castle and snatched the masterpiece Madonna with the Yarnwinder. The painting was the star attraction of one of Britain's finest private art collections, worth an estimated £400m, and which also includes works by Rembrandt and HolbeinThere has been a spate of break-ins at castles and country mansions this year. "There was some discussion of how Dr Kelly was and how he would be. Obviously, one looks back on this with a different perception but the best I can say is there was nothing that struck me that 'there is a problem here'.".

I stand by them."He added that he believed it was the right decision.Mr Blair was asked if any concern was expressed about the pressure being placed on Dr Kelly.He said: "Obviously, one of the things that was part of the conversation we were having was what Dr Kelly did, what sort of person was he, what sort of experience did he have."All I can say was that there was nothing in the conversation we had that would have alerted us to him being anything other than someone, you know, of a certain robustness who was used to dealing with the interchange between politics and the media. the very clear view of all of us right at the outset was that if it became clear in all probability that he was the source, the information could not remain undisclosed."Lord Hutton told the Prime Minister that presumably the Government was faced with two alternatives - to make a public statement or to inform the press.Mr Blair replied: "I didn't feel we were in a position to move forward at that stage. Tony Blair said today that he took responsibility for weapons expert David Kelly being named as the source for the BBC report that Downing Street had "sexed up" the Government's Iraqi arms dossier. It added: "I understand that No 10 would be content with this approach."Questions arising: Why did Mr Blair get involved with what should have been an internal personnel matter at the MoD? What was the extent of his involvement?.

Tony Blair also appears to have been consulted on whether Dr Kelly should appear before the Foreign Affairs Committee. He quotes a memo from Peter Watkins, Geoff Hoon's private secretary, which said Mr Hoon agreed to the committee's request to hear evidence from Dr Kelly. I think by this time the heat was on," he said.Questions arising: Was Tony Blair in any way involved in ensuring the Foreign Affairs Select Committee did not receive full co-operation from the Government? If so, why? Was he involved in putting the "heat" on Dr Kelly? Sir Kevin Tebbit, Permanent Secretary, MoD Sir Kevin, who appeared on day seven, revealed that he had been told by Sir David Omand that the Prime Minister on the weekend of 5-6 July was "following this very, very closely indeed ... "I do not buy this business of him [Dr Kelly] coming forward voluntarily. He acknowledged the original story broadcast by the BBC defence reporter for the Today programme had provoked strong feelings within Mr Blair's inner circle.Questions arising: Why was the Prime Minister chairing a meeting on a subject which should have been a matter for the MoD?Did he consider the stress Dr Kelly was under when approving a second interview? Andrew Mackinlay MP, Member of select committee Asked on day nine of the inquiry whether the Government had co-operated with the committee's inquiry into the case for going to war with Iraq, he replied: "Absolutely not." He also doubted whether Dr Kelly had come forward of his own volition. "The Prime Minister readily agreed because he didn't want to do anything precipitate and felt we needed to establish more closely what the connection was between Mr [Andrew] Gilligan and Dr Kelly," Sir David told the inquiry. That was one that just popped up and it was seized on - and it was unfortunate that it was.

Which is why there is an argument between the intelligence services and Cabinet Office-No 10." Reading from her shorthand notes, after the interview with Dr Kelly, Ms Watts also quotes: "It [the 45-minute claim] was a mistake to put in Alastair Campbell putting something in there Single source, not corroborated. Sounded good."Questions arising: Did Tony Blair put pressure on the JIC to include in the September dossier additional evidence such as the 45-minute claim? Did he tell Alastair Campbell to do so? Why were the intelligence services not left to draw up the dossier themselves? Tom Kelly, Tony Blair's official spokesman Mr Kelly's evidence on day seven suggested that No 10 had played an instrumental, albeit surreptitious, part in exposing Dr Kelly. An e-mail from Mr Kelly to Jonathan Powell read: "This [the naming of Dr Kelly] is now a game of chicken with the Beeb. The only way they will shift is if they see the screw tightening." After Dr Kelly's death, he described him to an Independent reporter as a "Walter Mitty-style fantasist".Questions arising: Did Tony Blair approve an undercover attempt to get Dr Kelly's name into the public arena? Did he authorise the blackening of his name? If not, what action does he intend to take? Sir David Manning, Former foreign policy adviser at No 10 Sir David, who gave evidence on day five, revealed a meeting, chaired by Mr Blair, at which the Prime Minister was told Dr Kelly would be re-interviewed by MoD officials.

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