Remember Dr David Kelly, driven to suicide after it was revealed he was the source for the BBC’s allegations about the “sexed-up” Iraq dossier? Remember how his death wasn’t investigated by a coroner, as it should’ve been done but was instead ruled as suicide by the Hutton Inquiry? Well, a group of six doctors, unconvinced by the verdict, have now applied to the attorney general for a proper inquest:
The doctors say the Hutton inquiry was “totally inadequate” as a means of identifying the cause of Dr Kelly’s death and they are seeking to obtain Dr Kelly’s autopsy report.
Their main argument is that the bleeding from Dr Kelly’s ulnar artery in his left wrist is “highly unlikely” to have caused his death. They say a number of studies have shown that it is unusual for a patient to die from a single deep cut to the wrist.
They say the Hutton Inquiry lacked the powers of a full inquest because it did not hear evidence taken under oath, it did not have the power to subpoena witnesses and it did not have the power to summon a jury.
They also say that the proviso which enabled the Hutton Inquiry to replace an inquest has only previously been used for mass deaths, such as the Ladbroke Grove rail crash or the inquiry in the deaths of patients the hands of Dr Harold Shipman.
It’s easy to dismiss these doctors as conspiracy loons, especially since their appeal comes so late, six years after Dr Kelly’s death. But they are right that the circumstances of his death were well dody and have not been investigated properly. But I still wonder why they appealed now and not sooner.