Prime Minister David Cameron has ruled out further inquiries into the
death of Dr David Kelly.
Dr
Kelly’s body was found in woods close to his Oxfordshire home in 2003,
shortly after he had been revealed as the source of a BBC report
questioning the accuracy of a Government dossier arguing the case for
war in Iraq.
The
Hutton Inquiry in 2004 found that Dr Kelly had committed suicide, and
then-Justice Secretary Lord Falconer ruled the inquiry could take the
place of an inquest in the coroner's court.
However a group of doctors, led by Stephen Frost, have since campaigned
for a full inquest, pointing out that Lord Hutton spent only half a day
of his 24-day inquiry considering the cause of Dr Kelly’s death.
Sir
Peter Tapsell, a senior Tory backbencher, asked Mr Cameron during Prime
Minister’s Questions: “Now that there is to be an investigation into the
abduction or murder of Madeleine McCann, isn’t there a much stronger
case for a full investigation into the suicide or murder of Dr David
Kelly?”
Mr
Cameron said while he welcomed the Metropolitan Police review into the
disappearance of Madeleine McCann, he was not supportive of a similar
move in the case of Dr Kelly.
David Cameron said the Hutton report into the Government weapons
inspector's death had been “fairly clear”, adding: “I don't think it's
necessary to take that case forward.”
He
said: “On the issue of Dr David Kelly, I thought the results of the
inquest that were carried out and the report into it were fairly clear
and I don’t think it is necessary to take that case forward.”
The
remarks appeared to catch the office of the Attorney General off-guard,
with officials suggesting that nothing had change. A spokesman for Mr
Grieve’s office said he would announce “in due course” whether he will
ask the High Court to order an inquest.
She
said: “The Attorney General is still considering representations made
and we will be making a decision in due course.
“He
has not consulted any of his Cabinet colleagues on the issue and is
undertaking the review in his public interest role. He is still
considering the material and the representations made and will make his
decision in due course.”
Last
summer Mr Grieve signaled he was prepared to intervene in the
controversy, admitting that those who doubted his suicide “may have a
valid point”.
In an
interview with The Daily Telegraph, Mr Grieve said he hoped to
settle any concerns about the government scientist’s death to “give the
public reassurance |