MoD scientist death probe proceedings begin

The judge heading up the inquiry into the death of MoD weapons expert Dr David Kelly opened proceedings today by re-stating his independence – and then called the Prime Minister to give evidence before him.

The other key figures at the centre of the storm – Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon, Downing Street communications chief Alistair Campbell, BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan and BBC chairman Gavyn Davis – will also be expected to answer questions before the probe.

Lord Hutton said that he would decide the breadth and scope of the inquiry and who should offer evidence.

He said that he had originally intended not to begin proceedings until after Dr Kelly's funeral. However, as the funeral has not yet taken place, Mrs Kelly informed Lord Hutton that she would have no objection to a preliminary sitting of the inquiry prior to the funeral.

Also at the meeting it was agreed that the inquiry would meet any legal costs which Mrs Kelly might incur.

Lord Hutton will also hear applications from interested parties and then adjourn the inquiry until after Dr Kelly's funeral.

Dr Kelly, who worked as a government advisor, felt the full glare of the media spotlight after the press picked him out as a possible source for the BBC story which claimed that the government had "sexed up" a dossier outlining grounds for going to war against Iraq.

However, Dr Kelly told a Commons foreign affairs select committee that he believed he could not have been the source for Mr GIlligan's original report.

Dr David Kelly (59) disappeared from his Faringdon home, Oxfordshire, on July 17 following a week of press attention. His body was found next morning in woodland five miles from his home.

The weapons' expert had died from bloodloss as the result of a knife wound to his wrist.

(GMcG)