Govt seeks to ‘draw a line’ under Kelly affair
by Peter wozniak
Ministers are considering publishing details surrounding the pathologist’s report on the death of the weapons inspector Dr David Kelly in July 2003, according to media reports.
The move would mean no inquest into the death would be required, sparing his widow further anguish.
Over the weekend, Nicholas Hunt, the Home Office pathologist who conducted the initial examination of Dr Kelly’s body, described the death as a ‘textbook case’ of suicide, rebutting speculation about his death that has persisted since 2003.
The Hutton report banned the publication of such details surrounding the case for seventy years, but the daily Mail quoted a senior source as saying: “It is clear from what Nicholas Hunt said that there is nothing to hide and it may be that it is better to publish the papers.”
The controversy around Dr Kelly’s death derives from his naming as a BBC source over the infamous ‘sexed-up’ dossier on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.
Justice secretary Ken Clarke is expected to decide on the matter after parliament returns from recess in September.
