Ten years on from his death and still no answers

It is not because there is anything to hide, despite the widespread conspiracy theories that remain to this day about the 59-year-old’s death. This remains a village that still feels protective towards Dr Kelly’s family, even though they have left Southmoor.

It’s not until you look in detail at what’s happened since that day, and the dialogue which still continues around various conspiracies and theories, that you see why Southmoor is still so wary of speculation about the respected Dr Kelly.

Days before his death, he had been exposed as the source of a BBC news report questioning the grounds for war in Iraq.

In the report, it was alleged that experts were asked to “sex up” a dossier on Saddam Hussein’s capacity to use weapons of mass destruction, in order to make a better case for invasion.

Dr Kelly, a keen walker, had been reported missing by his family on the night of July 17.

His body was found by a police search unit at Harrowdown Hill, north of Longworth, the next morning.

A formal inquest into his death was never completed, and the results of the controversial Hutton Inquiry, which ruled he had killed himself, were taken as the final ruling.

The inquiry put the time of his death at between 4.15pm on July 17 and 1.15am the following day.

But rumours and conspiracy about mystery, murder, and Government involvement are still rife, and they still make people in Southmoor feel uncomfortable.

Parish council chairman Brian Forster, 74, said: “It was a huge thing at the time, and a lot of the people who were associated with David at the time still think of him.

“It’s certainly never far from my mind. Although his wife has left the village, it is still insensitive to his family to talk about it.”

Mr Forster called for a proper inquest to be held and completed, if only to put an end to speculation.

He said: “The problem is the issue of the lack of a proper inquest still exists after all these years and I do think one should be held.

“The Hutton Inquiry was a total whitewash of the issue.

“A final medical opinion would go some way to possibly ending the constant raising of the issue, if not putting it to bed completely.

“The question of whether or not he was murdered is still very much an open one, because there has never been enough evidence either way.”

He said he was well acquainted with Dr Kelly, although he said he wouldn’t have described their friendship as close.

He said: “He used to play crib.

“I would occasionally stand by the bar and chat to him. He was a quiet man, not a man you would think capable of suicide.”

Melinda Tilley, the district and county councillor for Southmoor, said she wouldn’t make any comment, at the request of Dr Kelly’s widow Jan.

Mrs Tilley said: “The villagers promised Jan they wouldn’t say anything and would protect her, and that’s what I am going to do.”

The conspiracy theorists have always been looking for clues that somehow the Government was involved in Dr Kelly’s death and covered its tracks.

But Nicholas Gardiner, the Oxfordshire coroner at the time who did not hold an inquest, told the Oxford Mail in his only interview on the case that he made the decision alone.

He said on his retirement last year: “I was never under any political pressure.

“Whatever conspiracy theories people bring forward – and I think they will be brought forward forever – I don’t think I would have done anything differently.

“My duty is to determine whether there are exceptional reasons that warrant an inquest and if I thought there had been, I would have.

“The Government was always very proper.”

A silent vigil outside the High Court tomorrow is expected to be held by campaigners against the decision not to hold an inquest.

ANDREW SMITH; 'No good reason to refuse inquest'

ANDREW SMITH was a member of the Labour Government when David Kelly died and, while he believes the end of Saddam Hussein’s regime was positive, he is open to an inquest being held.
 

Dr Kelly’s death remains a key moment over the public’s trust of politicians, with “sexed up” dossiers becoming part of everyday vocabulary.
 

Looking back on events in 2003, the Oxford East MP, pictured left, said last night: “Clearly if we knew then what we know now in relation to weapons of mass destruction not being found, the Iraq war would not have happened.
 

“If Saddam’s regime had been left in power, though, given that he had already mounted two appalling invasions of neighbouring countries, and had used chemical weapons against his own people, I think there is every chance he would have continued to destabilise the region, with the risk of further war.
 

“It is important to remember too that at the very time of the invasion the Kurds in north Iraq were terrified of the prospect of genocide at his hands – as were the Marsh Arabs in the south – and were pleading for the international community to come to their aid
 

“It is also clear that not nearly enough planning went in to what was to happen after the invasion. This was in large part because the US administration of the day was averse to “nation building”, leaving a vacuum which sectarian extremists exploited.”
 

He added: “On the question of an inquest into the tragic death of Dr David Kelly, the Attorney General has ruled that the Hutton enquiry was tantamount to an inquest, and this has been upheld by the courts.
 

“Whilst concerns and doubts remain, though, I cannot see a good reason for refusing a coroner’s inquest, especially if his family want one.”