BBC News - Kelly wounds 'self-inflicted', says pathology report

22 October 2010 Last updated at 14:05

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Kelly wounds 'self-inflicted', says pathology report

Dr Kelly was the source of a BBC report casting doubt on government claims about Iraq's weapons

Previously secret evidence about the death of Iraq weapons expert Dr David Kelly suggests that he died as a result of a "self-inflicted injury".

The post-mortem report into his 2003 death blamed blood loss after cuts to his left wrist, aided by a painkiller overdose and "silent" heart disease.

The report backs up Lord Hutton's verdict that he committed suicide.

Two doctors who cast doubt on the case have come to opposing conclusions about whether their questions are answered.

Professor Julian Bion told BBC Radio 5 Live the newly published report "certainly satisfied" him that the cause of death given was the correct one. But former coroner Dr Michael Powers said many issues had still not been addressed.

The report was published on Friday, as ministers sought to end speculation over his death.

A group of doctors have been calling for the case to be reopened, arguing that the suicide verdict was unsafe.

Dr Kelly's body was found in woods close to his Oxfordshire home in 2003, after it was revealed he had provided the information for a BBC News story casting doubt on the government's claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction capable of being fired within 45 minutes.

'Distressing'

Instead of a coroner's inquest, then Prime Minister Tony Blair asked Lord Hutton to conduct an investigation, which found Dr Kelly had died from blood loss after slashing his wrist with a knife.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

There is no pathological evidence that this man has been subjected to a sustained, violent assault prior to his death”

End Quote Pathologist's report

• David Kelly reports: Key findings
• Lord Hutton statement in full

Lord Hutton requested that the details of the post-mortem examination and toxicology tests be classified for 70 years - to protect the privacy of the Kelly family - and the previous Labour government chose not to make them public.

But the Ministry of Justice said it was now releasing the details "in the interests of maintaining public confidence" in Lord Hutton's conclusions.

"While I firmly believe that the publication of these documents is in the public interest, I am mindful that the contents may be distressing," Justice Secretary Ken Clarke said. "I hope that the privacy of Dr Kelly's family will be respected at this difficult time," he added.

In the post-mortem, Home Office pathologist Dr Nicholas Hunt said there was "no evidence" that "natural disease" had caused Dr Kelly's death and identified a "significant" wound to his left wrist which resulted in a "the loss of a significant volume of blood as noted at the scene".

"The complex of incised wounds over the left wrist are entirely consistent with having been inflicted with a bladed weapon," he concluded.

As to the nature of the wound, he added that its "orientation and arrangement...are typical of self-inflicted injury".

In his report, Dr Hunt sets out in detail the factors he believes indicated suicide.

He says the removal of Dr Kelly's watch and spectacles are "features pointing towards this being an act of self-harm," as is the "relatively passive distribution of blood, the neat way in which the water bottle and its top were placed, the lack of obvious signs of trampling of the undergrowth or damage to clothing".

Furthermore, there was also a "total lack of classical defence wounds against a sharp weapon attack," he adds, and no "pathological evidence that this man had been subjected to a sustained, violent assault prior to his death".

The toxicology report by forensic scientist Alexander Allan showed a high concentration of paracetamol and dextropropoxyphene in Dr Kelly's blood. The two make up co-proxamol - a prescription-only drug for the treatment of mild to moderate pain.

'Considerable' overdose

Campaigners have questioned whether the painkillers in Dr Kelly's system were enough to cause death - and Dr Hunt says in his report that "the levels of paracetemol and dextropropoxyphene in the blood are not particularly high and may not ordinarily have caused death in their own right".

But he adds that dextropropoxyphene can cause fatal heart rhythm abnormalities in people with low blood pressure as a result of bleeding and "underlying narrowing of the coronary arteries" - both factors which he said applied in Dr Kelly's case.

The toxicology report concluded Dr Kelly had taken a "considerable" overdose of the drug although he had died before all the paracetamol had been absorbed into his system. The impact of the overdose was lessened because of a lack of other depressants such as alcohol.

Dr Hunt gives the cause of death as haemorrhage, wounds to the left wrist, co-proxamol ingestion and coronary artery damage.

A group of legal and medical experts have long called for a full inquest into Dr Kelly's death.

They argue the wound to Dr Kelly's wrist was "extremely unlikely" to have been fatal, citing testimony given by the detective who found his body, who said he did not see "much blood" at the scene.

'Unresolved issues'

One of those, former coroner Dr Michael Powers, told the BBC that there was "nothing new" in the post-mortem report, which he said should have been made available at the time of the official inquiry and open to full scrutiny.

"There is a need still to address many of issues which have already been raised and which these reports do not answer," he said.

They did not resolve the "major conflict" in the evidence about the amount of blood found at the scene and uncertainty over the number of pills Dr Kelly had taken.

"He may have taken far less than 29 tablets," Dr Powers said. "If he were only to have taken six to eight tablets, what does that say about his intent to take his own life? I don't believe any of the evidence we have seen or heard to date can answer those questions."

But Prof Bion said: "I can't speak for other [doctors] in this respect. I find Dr Hunt's contemporaneous report convincing."

He said the doctors concerned had wanted to bring clarity to the issue, adding: "We certainly did not want to add to the burden of suffering for the family."

'Insane conspiracy theorists'

Responding to the post-mortem's release, Lord Hutton denied that it had been concealed at the time of his inquiry.

"There was no secrecy surrounding the post-mortem report because it had always been available for examination and questioning by counsel representing the interested parties during the inquiry," he said in a statement.

His request that the documents should not be released for 70 years was solely in order to protect Dr Kelly's widow and daughters for the remainder of their lives "from the distress which they would suffer from further discussion of the details of Dr Kelly's death in the media".

A spokesman for the Kelly family said he hoped that the documents' release would end speculation about the scientist's death.

"I'd like to call for an end to insane conspiracy theorists," journalist Tom Mangold said, adding that the Kelly family had had "an awful time".

Mr Mangold said he believed there were a number of explanations for Dr Kelly wanting to end his life, including the fact that "the bedrock of his existence was his honour and that was impugned".

via bbc.co.uk