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I find it curious that Alistair campbell and Tony blair (the people who would benifit most from the 'removal' of doctor Kelly) have an organised and very public alabi. If there ever was a time to make it look like it was an ordered hit by campbell (who has shown signs of severe mental disorder and a 'God' comeplex of late in his dealings with the BBC in paticular) than this would have been the ideal time to do it, when those that posibly ordered the hit were out of the country.

Andrew Marr's coments, now being regully repeated on the bbc news 24 channal were calling for a truce between the bbc and number 10 saying that things had gone too far in this 'war' and he "didn't expect anyone to get killed as a result". So it seams that the speculation in the bbc behind the sceans is that it was murder.

Another thing which I expect may be 'lost' in future reports on the matter is that when the newsreader on bbc n.24 interviwed a police spokswoman, the spokes woman comented that dr kelly did not own a firarm and his body was found face down in the woods. This could mean a number of things of course but one could speculate that 5 miles from home, face down in mud away from the footpath (not hung then) and it would seem from the gun comment not sewerside by shooting that it certinly dose not sound like an advarage sewercide at all perhaps he could have had a heart attack or something at a very in opertune time or could have indeed been murdered.

Posted: 18-07-2003 16:29 Post subject: BBC 'Mole' found dead?

OO-EE-OO.
This is too freaky to be anything other than a tragic accident, surely. Isn't it???

"Body 'matches' Iraq expert

Mr Kelly arriving to give evidence to MPs this week
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, has denied being the source of a BBC story on claims that a dossier on Iraq was "sexed up".

He left his home in Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, at about 1500 BST on Thursday and his family reported him missing at 2345 BST the same day.

The body was found lying on the ground, around five miles from Dr Kelly's home, a police spokeswoman said.

Acting superintendent Dave Purnell said 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.

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.

Mr Blair's spokesman said: "The prime minister is obviously very distressed for the family.

"If it is Dr Kelly's body, the Ministry of Defence will hold an independent judicial inquiry into the circumstances leading up to his death."

Robert Jackson, the Conservative MP in whose constituency Dr Kelly lived, said the "responsibility of the BBC should not go unmentioned" in the case.

"The pressure was significantly increased by the fact the BBC refused to make it clear he was not the source," he said.

A BBC spokesman said: "We are shocked and saddened to hear what has happened and we extend our deepest sympathies to Dr Kelly's family and friends.

"Whilst Dr Kelly's family await the formal identification, it would not be appropriate for us to make any further statement."

Earlier this week, Dr Kelly denied being the BBC's main source for the story claiming Downing Street had "sexed up" the dossier about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

MPs on the Commons foreign affairs committee, which questioned Dr Kelly earlier this week, reacted with shock and disbelief at news of his disappearance.

Huge media attention has been on Dr Kelly since the Ministry of Defence said he had come forward to admit 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 "transformed" 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.

Supt Purnell said a police family liaison officer is with Dr Kelly's family. The official and wife Janice have three daughters, Sian, 32, and twins Rachel and Ellen, 30.

Ann Lewis, a neighbour of Dr Kelly, told BBC News Online she was "devastated" for his family, especially his children.

He is not used to the media glare, he is not used to the intense spotlight he has been put under

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.

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 "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, a 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.

" There must be more to this than we had thought. I do not know what that means, I just think there is"

John Maples
Foreign affairs committee.

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. "

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3076801.stm>

Posted: 18-07-2003 16:52 Post subject:

Too right.. it's got shades of the 80s when all those weapons experts started dying in unusual circumstances.

What's even weirder is that both Taras and myself started separate threads on this very subject sequentially around midday, and both were deleted after a couple of minutes.... Eek Eek

Posted: 18-07-2003 16:57 Post subject: Deleted?

That's odd.
I thought I couldn't have been the first person to post on this subject. Was there anything in your post that might have led to its being deleted?

It may well turn out to be accident or suicide but...

Posted: 18-07-2003 17:06 Post subject:

Posted: 18-07-2003 17:57 Post subject:

Posted: 18-07-2003 19:48 Post subject:

I don't know EZ. Too many people pointing and going "my entire arse". People are no longer prepared to take this kind of double play. Cooj thinks it's misdirection of some kind.

Posted: 18-07-2003 20:31 Post subject:

its strange that the police found/located mr kelly less less than 20 hours after he was reported missing when ordinarlly people arnt found/located months or years later

(i thought that you had to be missing for 3 days/72 hrs before there would be a search for you if youre a "normal" adult?)

i bet that the corneners report thingy will be classed as "open verdict and/or death due to unknown causes"

two words:- allegded conspirisy

Posted: 18-07-2003 21:13 Post subject:

"Alleged" being the operative word. It's too early to say anything, really - for all we know, the pressure may well have been too much for him, he may well have gone off for an uncharacteristic walk, he could have had a coronary: point is, we don't know. And that uncertainty is what breeds conspiracy theories: whatever verdict is delivered, there will always be those who don't believe it

I'm not discounting "nobbling" altogether, but TBH to me at least it sounds like a bloke with too much pressure on him.

By the way, I agree that this story is intertwined with Iraq (Dr Kelly's death is directly related, whether by natural or artificial cause), so agree it belongs on here.

Posted: 18-07-2003 21:54 Post subject:

Yes, I agree with Stu.

If his death is suicide or stress-induced coronary, it clearly relates to the Iraq enquiry.

If it should be 'foul play' then the conspiracy mills will be over-heating.

Just heard on TV: the body is Dr. Kelly, and there will be a judicial enquiry into his death.

Posted: 18-07-2003 22:12 Post subject: The Weapons Inspector's Weapons Inspector

One quite common thread, according to various interviewees and the BBC, is the fact that Dr Kelly might not have been prepared for the overwhelming 'media' onslaught, following his appearance in the House of Commons, the other day.

He was known as the 'Weapons Inpector's Weapons Inspector, apparently! He was supposed to be straight talking and straightforward, always said what he really believed and was at pains to be very accurate in his public pronouncements.

When he was in Iraq as part of a UN weapons team he had to handle all sorts of hassle from Iraqi security, intelligence and etc. Sadman Hussein, himself, couldn't stand him and wanted him out.

It's ironic to think the British Press may have succeeded where Sadman Hussein failed. Sad

Posted: 18-07-2003 22:13 Post subject:

any bets that itll be a closed inquiry?

Posted: 18-07-2003 22:23 Post subject:

Posted: 18-07-2003 22:31 Post subject:

His walk was not uncharactaristc roll eyes (sarcastic)

It was saying on the news earlier that he went for a walk regully before dinner and came back in time for tea thats what raised the alarm for his wife, there were only a few walks he could have done in the time in the local area, hence the fact that the police didn't take long to find him, he was in one of the first places they'd have looked.

on the subject that he was somehow depressed to the point of sewercide because he had been bady treated by the inquiry, I don't buy that at all, he has as a top scientist and former weapons inspector had to deal with the press an aurful lot in his job (aparently according to the bbc he is very good friends with some jurnolists) and as a leader in his feild (microbiology) would have had to make many presentations at confrences where it is likly that his findings and theorys would have been put under the microscope and possibly had many other scientists doubting his conclutions etc. so he would have been well used to that kind of thing...

And according to the bbc the last person to see him as he went off for his walk saw him smileing...

all that dose pour cold water on suicide (along with the cercomstces the body was in i outlined in my last post on this thread) and although we haven't been given much information on this, the info that has been released sugests natural causes or murder Sad