Mysteries surrounding Dr. David Kelly's death

Oddities in the circumstances surrounding the death of the expert who claimed the government 'sexed up' the dossier to invade Iraq

Dr. David Kelly was a British scientist and expert on biological warfare who worked for the British government. He was employed by the Ministry of Defence, served as a weapons inspector for the United Nations in Iraq, and was affiliated with the Foreign Office and MI6. Kelly came to public attention in the lead up to the Iraq War when the British government published the 'September Dossier' in 2002, making the case for Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).

The dossier was used by Prime Minister Tony Blair as a basis to enter the Iraq War, and it included the controversial claim that Iraq could deploy WMDs within 45 minutes. Dr. Kelly had concerns about the veracity of this claim and was reportedly uneasy with the way intelligence was being used to justify war. He was an anonymous source for BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan, who reported on a radio broadcast that the government had "sexed up" the dossier to strengthen the case for war.

Following an inquiry by the UK government, Kelly's identity as the source of the report was revealed. He was then brought before the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Select Committee and the Intelligence and Security Committee in July 2003, where he was grilled on live television over his contact with journalists.

Almost exactly 20 years ago (17 July 2003), following his appearance at these committees, Dr. Kelly was found dead in a wooded area near his home in Oxfordshire. The official cause of death, as determined by the Hutton Inquiry, was suicide, with the cause being blood loss from a severed ulnar artery in his wrist, along with an overdose of painkillers.

A sad ending for a brave man but did he really kill himself? Let’s take a look at the circumstances surrounding his death.