London ? The biological weapons expert whose death ignited a political crisis over Prime Minister Tony Blair’s decision to go to war in Iraq committed suicide by slashing his left wrist, authorities said Saturday.

Police said they found no signs of foul play in the death of David Kelly, an adviser to the Defense Ministry and former arms inspector for the United Nations in Iraq. His body was found Friday on a rural path near Oxford.

Kelly’s family issued a statement saying his “life had become intolerable” after he was swept up in a clash between the media and the government over allegations that Blair’s case for going to war was based on exaggerated claims about Iraq’s arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. “All those involved should reflect hard and long (on what happened),” the family said.

Blair continued an official visit in Japan while preparations began for a judicial inquiry into the case, which is shaping up as one of the most difficult chapters in the prime minister’s career.

At an appearance in Japan, a stone-faced Blair declined to answer a journalist who asked: “Have you got blood on your hands, prime minister? Are you going to resign?” Earlier, Blair praised Kelly’s work as a biological weapons expert and asked for “respect and restraint.”

Former Cabinet minister Glenda Jackson said Blair should consider resigning.

“I don’t see how the government is going to be able to function adequately,” said Jackson, a former actress and member of the leftist faction of Blair’s Labor party, which opposed the war. “This is going to be hanging over the government for the whole period of the judicial inquiry.”

It seems unlikely that Blair, who still dominates British politics, will resign any time soon. But many Britons feel they were dragged into the war by a hawkish U.S. president.