July 18th, 2003: British weapons inspector found dead after testimony

David Christopher Kelly 14 May 1944 – 17 July 2003) was a Welsh scientist and authority on biological warfare

Following Kelly’s suicide Tony Blair, the Prime Minister, set up a government inquiry under Lord Hutton, a former Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland. The inquiry concluded that Kelly had killed himself. Hutton also stated that no other parties were involved in Kelly’s death.

There was continued debate over the manner of Kelly’s death, and the case was reviewed between 2010 and 2011 by Dominic Grieve, the Attorney General; he concluded that there was “overwhelmingly strong” evidence that Kelly had killed himself.

The manner of Kelly’s death has been the subject of several documentaries and has been fictionalised on television, on stage and in print. Thom Yorke wrote the song “Harrowdown Hill” about the death of Kelly.

He was appointed as Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1994 and might well have been under consideration for a knighthood in May 2003, according to Hutton.

His work in Iraq earned him a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.

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