David Kelly (weapons expert)

David Christopher Kelly (14 May 1944 – 17 July 2003) was a Welsh scientist. He was a well known person in biological warfare (BW). He was born in Glamorgan.

In July 2003 he had an off-the-record conversation with BBC's Andrew Gilligan, during their discussion they talked about the 2002 dossier on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, which stated that some of Iraq's chemical and biological weapons were deployable within 45 minutes.^[1]

After the BBC interview, Kelly's was called to appear on 15 July before the parliamentary Intelligence and Security and Foreign Affairs Select committees. Two days later Kelly was found dead near his home, aged 59.

Kelly killed himself by cutting his wrist while taking a large amount of dextropropoxyphene at a woodland area in Oxfordshire.^[2]

David Kelly (weapons Expert) Media

Linacre College, Oxford, where Kelly studied for his doctorate in microbiology
Gruinard Island, which Kelly assisted with decontaminating from weaponised anthrax
Hans Blix, the head of UNMOVIC from March 2000 to June 2003
Purported Iraqi mobile weapons laboratories, actually for production of hydrogen to fill weather balloons^[3]^[4]
Alastair Campbell, who, Gilligan asserted, had included the 45-minute claim in the 2002 September Dossier
Tony Blair, the British Prime Minister who chaired the meeting that agreed to confirm Kelly's name to journalists if they guessed his identity
David Chidgey, who put questions to Kelly that had been provided by Gilligan^[5]
St Mary's Church, Longworth, where Kelly was buried
Four witnesses from the Hutton Inquiry: (Clockwise from top left) Richard Dearlove, Greg Dyke, John Scarlett and Geoff Hoon