Death of Dr David Kelly
On 18 July 2003 Dr Kelly’s body was discovered in woodland in Oxford. Tony Blair’s government at the time stated that he had committed suicide by slashing his left wrist and taking a drugs overdose. There has never been a full inquest or coroner’s report despite requests from many interested parties for there to be one. Naturally this has fuelled suspicion that the government is hiding something. After all, why would Dr Kelly’s family not be afforded the inquest that invariably follows all unexpected deaths?
Below is an interview with David Halpin, a retired surgeon, following a judge’s refusal to grant a judicial review regarding the government’s decision not to re-open the inquest into Dr Kelly’s death.
Who was Dr David Kelly
Dr Kelly worked for the MOD (Ministry of Defence) and had previously been a UNSCOM (United Nations Special Commission in Iraq) weapons inspector. The general public many never have known who he was had he not hit the headlines in July 2003. An off the record conversation he had with Andrew Gilligan, a journalist working for the BBC, became public knowledge. It related to WMDs (weapons of mass destruction) in Iraq. This led to Dr Kelly being interviewed by the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on 15 July 2003. He consistently denied that he was the main source of the leaked information. The interview was both interrogatory and aggressive. Just 2 days after the questioning he allegedly took his own life.
The contentious issue about the weapons of mass destruction that Dr Kelly allegedly spoke about was that the government had exaggerated the threat of WMDs to ‘sex up’ participation in the Iraq War.
Conspiracy theories
The BBC made a documentary about the ‘conspiracy theories’ that have abounded since Dr Kelly’s death which can be seen below:
The awkward scenario with conspiracy theories is that they have a habit of continuing until they are proven to be theories rather than facts. In this case the likelihood of ever getting the truth about this death may only surface if those involved take lie detector tests.
It is the contention of many eminent professionals that Dr Kelly was murdered and that the Hutton Inquiry into his death ordered by the government was a cover up exercise.
The Hutton Inquiry
This public inquiry conducted by Lord Hutton served to fuel more suspicion not least because it was ordered in less than an hour after the discovery of the body. At this stage there had been no formal identification and no medical examination.
The Hutton Inquiry concluded that the scientist had taken his own life by “haemorrhage due to incised wounds of the left wrist” together with “coproxamol ingestion and coronary artery atherosclerosis”. The primary cause of death was ‘bleeding from incised wounds to his left wrist which Dr Kelly had inflicted on himself with the knife found beside his body’. No other person was involved according to the report and the government was also exonerated from having any involvement.
In addition the evidence was archived for 70 years as classified. This included photographic evidence of Dr Kelly’s body and the post mortem examination report. 7 years later Hutton denied that he had done this to conceal evidence. His motive, he asserted was to protect Dr Kelly’s family from media attention and further distress. This may or may not be true. Perhaps it would be a good idea for Lord Hutton to take a lie detector test in the light of recent new evidence that has emerged.
New evidence
Investigative journalist, Miles Goslett has relentlessly delved into every aspect of the case. He has, over the years, compiled a remarkable amount of compelling evidence casting doubt on the government’s version of what happened.
Despite the smears of ‘conspiracy theorist’ he has had to endure Goslett has progressed with his investigation. He now claims to have found new evidence that casts doubt on the manner of Dr Kelly’s death and the circumstances surrounding it.
It has now come to light that an eminent consultant vascular surgeon, John Scurr places no credibility on the official cause of death. His involvement came about due to a conversation that he had with Sarah Pape OBE who is the half sister of Dr Kelly. Sarah is a renowned Consultant Burns and Plastic surgeon and contacted him after reading the Hutton Report which was published in January 2004. She never believed that her brother committed suicide. She also expressed concern as to whether it was possible that death could occur from cutting the ulnar artery. As a leader in her field she didn’t believe that it was possible to cut through this artery without medical knowledge which her brother didn’t have.
Mr Scurr agrees with Sarah Pape stating that the severing of the ulnar artery (which is very small) would not cause a person to lose sufficient blood to bring on a heart attack and subsequently death. There was very little blood found where the body was discovered. The manner in which Dr Kelly was alleged to have cut the artery is also suspicious. Mr Scurr considers that if indeed the ulnar artery was severed, the likelihood is that someone else did it.
The full story about this new evidence can be read by clicking here
People we believe should take lie detector tests
There is no doubt that this case is highly unusual and questions remain unanswered. When several professionals are suspicious about the death of Dr David Kelly, particularly given their expert knowledge, perhaps it is time to lay some fears to rest.
Whilst many of the people involved in the case were questioned during the Hutton Inquiry there was not legal redress if they answered dishonestly. There would have been in a straightforward Coroner’s inquest. In addition, those who are concerned about the death of Dr Kelly might be less suspicious if those people took lie detector tests. The results may prove their fears are unfounded or give weight to them.
We believe the following should submit to polygraph examinations:
Former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who ordered the public inquiry
Lord Hutton who carried out the inquiry
Head of MI6 between 1999 and 2004, Sir Richard Dearlove OBE
Erstwhile Director of Communications for the Labour Party, Alastair Campbell, who resigned during the Hutton Inquiry
How lie detector tests can help
A number of matters show that the Hutton Inquiry was unsound. Evidence that would have been presented in full at a coroner’s inquest was simply not considered some of which is below:
- Missing dental records – on the day of the death of Dr Kelly, before his body had been discovered, his dentist found that his dental records were missing. Who took them and for what purpose?
- No evidence was presented about Dr Kelly’s movements the week before his death
- In the post mortem report the forensic pathologist made a mistake by recording Dr Kelly’s weight by 12.7 kilos less than he was
- Thermal imaging technology from the police helicopter that had flown over the wood three hours before the body was found didn’t pick it up
Lie detector test questions could be:
- Were you responsible for the death of Dr Kelly?
- Do you know anyone who was responsible for the death of Dr Kelly
- Were you involved in the death of Dr Kelly?
Lie detector tests are used in some police investigations to uncover areas they can focus on or perhaps have not considered. They would be ideal for this case.
We join with Sarah Pape, OBE, Consultant Vascular Surgeon John Scurr, Journalist Miles Goslett and all others concerned, in believing it is vital that the death of Dr David Kelly be investigated by a full coroner’s inquest. And then perhaps the suspicions about the circumstances of his death can be put to rest in one way or another.
We invite our readers to comment.
