 |
| |
|
|
lightblue
|
|
L'Boro, UK
Oct 2001
time: 05:29
|
|
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3076801.stm
quote:
Police searching for the weapons expert suggested as the possible source for a BBC story on Iraq say the body they have found matches Dr David Kelly's appearance.
The government says an independent judicial inquiry will be held into the circumstances of his death if the body is confirmed to be that of Dr Kelly.
The body was found at 0920 BST by a member of the police team searching for Dr Kelly in a wooded area at Harrowdown Hill, near Faringdon, Oxfordshire.
Government adviser Dr Kelly, 59, went missing from his home in Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, at about 1500 BST on Thursday.
The body was found lying on the ground, around five miles from Dr Kelly's home, a police spokeswoman said.
Acting superintendent Dave Purnell confirmed that the body matched Dr Kelly's description in a brief news conference at 1430 BST.
Formal identification would take place on Saturday, said Supt Purnell, and the case was being treated as an "unexplained death".
"We will be awaiting the results of the post mortem and also waiting while the forensic examination continues at the scene at Harrowdown Hill," he added.
Attention
The government announcement of an inquiry if the body is Dr Kelly's came from the prime minister's plane as he flew for a visit to Tokyo.
Earlier this week, Dr Kelly denied being the BBC's main source for a story claiming Downing Street had "sexed up" a dossier about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.
He appeared before the Commons foreign affairs committee on Tuesday.
MPs on the committee reacted with shock and disbelief at news of Dr Kelly's disappearance.
His family had contacted the police when he failed to return home by 2345 BST on Thursday.
Tony Blair, who is heading to Japan after his speech to Congress in Washington, has been informed about the discovery of the body.
Huge media attention has been on Dr Kelly since the Ministry of Defence said he had admitted meeting Andrew Gilligan, the BBC correspondent behind the controversial Iraq story.
Mr Gilligan said a source had told him that the dossier on Iraq had been "sexed up" by Downing Street.
The BBC correspondent has refused to name his source, but the MoD said Dr Kelly had come forward to say it may have been him.
Government ministers have said they believe he was the source for Mr Gilligan's story.
Superintendent Purnell said the official's family were aware that a body had been found. A police family liaison officer is with them.
Harrowdown Hill, where the body is found, is an area popular with walkers but "quite off the beaten track", he added.
Ann Lewis, a neighbour of Dr Kelly, told BBC News Online she was "devastated" for his family, especially his children.
She said: "He was a quiet man. He was a man who showed great care and concern for others."
Craig Foster, 36, landlord of the Blue Boar public house in nearby Longworth, said Dr Kelly was "a very well liked gentleman".
Police say Dr Kelly is an avid walker and has good local knowledge of the many footpaths surrounding his home.
Initial searches of the house, outbuildings and grounds of the property were completed in the early hours of Friday.
A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said: "We are aware that Dr David Kelly has gone missing and we are obviously concerned."
The ministry said Dr Kelly had at no point been threatened with suspension or dismissal for speaking to Mr Gilligan.
It was made clear to him that he had broken civil service rules by having unauthorised contact with a journalist, but "that was the end of it", said a spokesman.
Downing Street says it is "very concerned about news that David Kelly has gone missing". A spokesman said thoughts were with Dr Kelly's family.
A police officer in the area where the body was found
Number 10 says "normal personnel procedures" were followed after Dr Kelly volunteered that he might have been the source of Mr Gilligan's report.
It was made clear to Dr Kelly that his name was likely to become public knowledge because he was one of only a small number of people it could have been about, the spokesman said.
After questioning Dr Kelly earlier this week, the Commons foreign affairs select committee said it was "most unlikely" he was the main source for the BBC story.
And they said Dr Kelly, who has worked as a weapons inspector in Iraq, had been "poorly treated" by the government - a charge strongly rejected by the MoD.
Committee chairman Donald Anderson told the BBC his "heart went out" to Dr Kelly's family as the search for the official went on.
Another member of the committee, Tory John Maples said he was "speechless" after hearing of the discovery of a body.
"If it is (Dr Kelly), it is just awful. What can you say? Nothing," he said.
"There must be more to this than we had thought. I do not know what that means, I just think there is."
Tory MP Richard Ottaway, another committee member, said: "He is not used to the media glare, he is not used to the intense spotlight he has been put under."
The BBC has rejected Mr Anderson's claim that Mr Gilligan was an "unreliable witness" who had changed his story about the Iraq dossier claims when he met the committee in private on Thursday.
|
I suppose they do not know if it is suicide or not, but it seems to be a very convenient disappearance of someone could inconvenience certain interests. /cues sinister background music.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
lightblue
|
|
L'Boro, UK
Oct 2001
time: 05:29
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by *End Is Forever*
Suicide or not, the government is ****ed... they effectively made him a scapegoat. |
Yeah, I somehow doubt they can stick a positive spin on this one.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
st_swithin
|
|
10069
Nov 2002
time: 05:29
|
|
POOF! I make-a you deesapeer, jost like-a Saddam. ALAKAZAM!
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Zulu Elephant
|
|
This is the first time I've seriously thought that Blair might not be the Prime Minister at the next election.
The government are the only set of people who think/thought Dr. Kelly was Gilligan's source.
If the papers decided to present the story as "Government accused innocent man of leaking news who then kills himself from the pressure/depression" than Labour are in some serious ****.
If the papers DID spin it like that (over the course of a few days) then Campbell is almost CERTAIN to go and Blairs long term survival (this would tip public opinion towards the BBC and therefore cast the government as liars and manslaughterers in the publics eyes) would be in extreme jepordy.
I don't think Im exaggerating in saying that this could be the worst thing that has ever happened to the Blair government - People just don't trust them enough anymore to let scandals like this go by anymore.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
lightblue
|
|
L'Boro, UK
Oct 2001
time: 05:29
|
|
Had a look at the papers this morning and all that had it on their frontpage (so everything apart from the Star and Sport...), seemed to be at least critical to outright damning of the pressures put on Kelly by the government by making him a scapegoat. I think the prevailing thought is that it was suicide, but I assume there will be an autopsy.
The people that are under the most pressure at the moment it seems are Alistair Campbell, Geoff Hoon (Defence Secretary) and Ben Bradshaw (Environment Secretary, but has been doing the rounds saying that Dr Kelly must be assumed the mole until disproved otherwise).
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Cruddy
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by Immortal Wombat
So blatently not suicide.
|
You could at least wait for confirmation that it is Dr Kelly. Mind you, I heard on the radio that a judicial investigation was to be launched, even before identity was confirmed... which seems a bit quick off the mark.
quote:
Originally posted by Immortal Wombat
My bet's on Campbell, probably stuffed up too much, and in typical idiotic-bad-guy style thought "I know, I'll hire a contract killer, that'll work".
|
An autopsy is hard to fool for a contract killer... and Campbell is not stupid enough to use a method that could be traced back to him. Also, there was no definiite evidence linking Dr Kelly as the man saying Campbell is a bullshitter.
quote:
Originally posted by Immortal Wombat
Proff guy gets knocked off, Campbell gets all Crime and Punishment on our asses, finally, wracked with guilt is caught doing something stupid like burning gloves by the inquiry, and gets carted off to the courts. Has a breakdown on the way in, and gets carted off to the loony bin in a mini.
(It's a mini adventure) |
OH, you were joking... I hope you were.
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
lightblue
|
|
L'Boro, UK
Oct 2001
time: 05:29
|
|
Kelly slashed wrists
Slashed wrists, positive identification. Suppose next step is looking at signs of a struggle or medication to rule out murder... Bad news all around.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
st_swithin
|
|
10069
Nov 2002
time: 05:29
|
|
But I bet he won't rest until he's found the REAL killer, just like our hero, OJ!
|
|
| |
All times are GMT. The time now is 05:29.
Apolyton Time is 00:29. |
top of page
|
| archivepost |
|
Forum Rules:
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
|
HTML code is ON
vB code is ON
Smilies are ON
[IMG] code is ON
|
|
|
|
|
|
18-07-2003 19:44
|