THE death of Dr David Kelly reduces the already low level of public trust in politicians and the media.

The BBC's admission that Dr Kelly was the source of claims that the Government had "sexed up" intelligence of Iraq will do nothing to stem criticism of the corporation.

Despite all the talk of respect and restraint for Dr Kelly's family, it will ensure that the increasingly acrimonious dispute between the BBC and Downing Street remains at the heart of the debate on the war against Iraq.

Where is the respect for his friends and family in continuing the squabble that must have had an influence in the decision to take his own life?

It is the politicians, and not the BBC, who bear the brunt of the responsibility for such a tragic chain of events.

Andrew Gilligan's report would have been forgotten in the mists of time had Alastair Campbell not raised it with such vigour, presumably with the support of Downing Street, in his evidence to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.

The suspicion remains that the dispute with the BBC was a sideshow concocted to deflect attention from the Government's less than convincing case for going to war and the absence of any evidence of weapons of mass destruction in newly liberated Iraq.

The members of the Foreign Affairs Committee deserve no praise for allowing Mr Campbell to dictate their agenda. They should not have been sidetracked from the real issue they were supposed to be investigating.

Had they remained steadfast, the dreadful consequences of their inquiry may have been avoided.

Man of honour

AMERICAN golfer Ben Curtis may be Open champion, but the player who came from Royal St George's with most honour was Yorkshireman Mark Roe.

Roe was cruelly robbed of a excellent chance of the title and the £700,000 first prize because he had forgotten to exchange scorecards.

He accepted disqualification with good grace, blaming himself rather than the petty rules of golf.

In any other professional sport such a punishment would have been followed by appeal after appeal, through the courts if necessary.

But in golf, respect for the rules is an overriding principle. Others sports should look and learn from the fine example set by Mark Roe.