I used to think the death of David Kelly was suicide.
Now I am not sure. If there wasn't something highly dubious going on, why would the government keep it secret for 70 years?
Now I am not sure. If there wasn't something highly dubious going on, why would the government keep it secret for 70 years?
Governments can and do operate clandestinely, the only real question is how much.
David Kelly's death came at a very good time for the British Government, he had already proven to be willing to go public with potentially very damning information.
My take on it was that he would have continued to make plain his findings until either the British participation in the Iraq war would have become untenable or there would have been a government crisis.
The interesting part is that after all the dust settled it all seemed to boil down to the exact definition of what it means when a report is 'sexed up', as vague a term as you could want to have for that purpose.
Apparently 'selecting evidence that is convenient whilst leaving out that which is inconvenient' is not enough.
70 years is nothing - there are still cabinet meetings from the Napoleonic wars that are sealed.
They also sealed the autopsy reports which have nothing to do with intelligence agencies and are highly relevant to the suicide verdict.
I know every government conjures some James Bond secret agent fantasies whenever they want to hide something, but it doesn't fly here.
In American terms it's like holding an investigation into JFK's death but only considering the cause of death and finding that it was a bullet that killed him.