Dr David Kelly: Hutton’s finding and the cover-up claims
Alleged: Reported or claimed; not established in the public record.
Dr David Kelly, a government weapons expert identified as the source of a BBC report on Iraq intelligence, was found dead in woods near his Oxfordshire home in 2003. Lord Hutton concluded that Dr Kelly took his own life and that no other person was involved. In 2011 the Attorney General declined to seek a fresh inquest, calling the evidence of suicide “overwhelming” and rejecting claims of a cover-up.
Documented
Hutton’s conclusions and the Attorney General’s statement are public. The Attorney General said Dr Kelly “wasn’t killed by anybody”.
Claimed, disputed or not established
A group of doctors argued that the Hutton ruling was “unsafe” and that the evidence did not point to suicide; their leader Dr Stephen Frost alleged a “continuing cover-up”. These murder and cover-up claims were rejected by the Attorney General and are not established.
Sources (opened in a new tab)
- Hutton report, chapter 12: conclusions (GlobalSecurity copy) ↗https://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/report/2004/hutton-chapter12.htm
- BBC: Key points of the Hutton report (28 Jan 2004) ↗http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3437315.stm
- BBC: Attorney general rules against Dr David Kelly inquest (9 Jun 2011) ↗https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13709515
- GOV.UK: No fresh inquest into death of Dr David Kelly ↗https://www.gov.uk/government/news/no-fresh-inquest-into-death-of-dr-david-kelly
Connected
- Section: United Kingdom
- Countries: United Kingdom
- Vault documents: Hutton Inquiry report, chapter 12: summary of conclusions ↗
- Case board · Timeline (2004) · Document vault