New evidence of cover up in Dr David Kelly's death. Doctors want inquest.

[Magda Hassan]

An oldie but worthwhile posting here I think. Just to keep it on record.

How the Key Players in the Kelly Scandal Were Rewarded

Jonathan Oliver – The Mail on Sunday December 10, 2006

The politicians and officials at the heart of the David Kelly scandal have been showered with honours, promotions or lucrative retirement jobs in the three years since the scientist's death.

While the Kelly family continue to mourn quietly in private, The Mail on Sunday today reveals how the men and women who share the blame for his demise have prospered.

On the eve of the third anniversary of the Hutton Report into the affair, an investigation charts the upward career paths of figures central to the inquiry who were called to give evidence or played a major part from behind the scenes.

The senior officials accused of covering up No10's manipulation of the intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction have gone on to be rewarded with some of the most glamorous jobs in the public sector.

Meanwhile, the Labour chairmen of the Commons committees that failed to probe the bogus Government dossiers on Saddam Hussein have been placed in the House of Lords.

And Alastair Campbell, the spin doctor whom critics accuse of tampering with intelligence and whipping up the hysteria that led to the scientist's alleged suicide, now stands to make an estimated £1 million from his memoirs.

Even junior and middle-ranking officials who were caught up in the political tornado have been recognised by the honours system and given significant promotions.

The research was carried out by Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker, who is probing the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr Kelly in July 2003.

Mr Baker said: "Nobody in Government came out of this episode with any credit or integrity. Yet, three years after the Hutton Inquiry, the principal players in the drama of the death of David Kelly - those who backed the Government or cravenly caved in to No10's demands - have prospered handsomely."

Meanwhile, the men who stood up to the Establishment have not fared so well.

In 2003, Kevin Marsh was the editor of Radio 4's Today Programme and defended his reporter Andrew Gilligan's right to report that Campbell had "sexed up" the WMD dossier. Now he is stuck in a relative backwater as head of the BBC's journalist training school.

Greg Dyke, then BBC director general, was forced to quit following the Hutton Report and has struggled to find a new role.

And what of Lord Hutton? The ex-Law Lord, accused of colluding in an Establishment whitewash, has slipped back into obscure retirement in his native Northern Ireland and has said little on the affair. Last month he defended his report in an article for a legal journal

The Air Marshal
Sir Joe French, 57, was Chief of Defence Intelligence.
Salary: up to £95,000.
Role: Testified before Hutton, defending the notorious - now disproved - claim that Saddam's weapons could be launched within 45 minutes.
Now: Promoted this year to Commander-in-Chief of RAF Strike Command on £154,000 a year.

The MP
Ann Taylor, 59, Labour MP, was chairwoman of Parliament's Intelligence Committee.
Salary: £56,000.
Role: She headed the committee that published a report which exonerated Downing Street over allegations of manipulating the Iraq intelligence.
Now: Ennobled as Baroness Taylor of Bolton. In her first year in the Lords she claimed more than £30,000 in tax-free "subsistence allowances".

The Select Committee Chairman
Donald Anderson, 67, was Labour chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.
Salary: £56,000.
Role: Caved in to Government request not to ask David Kelly awkward questions about Iraq's WMD. Kelly was found dead two days after he appeared before Anderson's committee.
Now: Elevated to Lords as Baron Anderson of Swansea. Claimed £25,000 last year in tax-free attendance allowances in return for attending Lords on a total of 94 days.

The Defence Secretary
Geoff Hoon, 53, was Defence Secretary.
Salary: £129,000.
Role: Accused of neglecting his duty of care towards MoD employee David Kelly by sanctioning the release of his name to the media. Hoon admitted he could have done more to help the scientist.
Now: Demoted to Europe Minister on £99,000 but considered lucky to keep his Government job. Insiders claim Blair decided against sacking him because of the Iraq secrets he could spill.

The PM's mouthpiece
Godric Smith, 41, was one of the Prime Minister's two Official Spokesmen.
Salary: £80,000.
Role: Announced Kelly's death to reporters on the PM's plane as it arrived in Tokyo - responsible for many subsequent briefings.
Now: Honoured with CBE. Sports-mad Smith landed dream job as chief spin doctor for the 2012 London Olympics. Paid £120,000 a year.

The spin doctor
Alastair Campbell, 49, was Blair's Director of Communications and Strategy.
Salary: £130,000.
Role: Allegedly masterminded the "sexing up" of the official report on Iraq's WMD, author of the second so-called "dodgy dossier", and was the man behind the strategy that led to the public naming of David Kelly.
Now: Quit No10 but new work more lucrative. Charged Labour £40,000 plus VAT for a few weeks as a consultant during 2005 Election. Sports writer for Rupert Murdoch's Times newspaper. Stands to make £1 million for his memoirs.

The PM's other spokesman
Tom Kelly, 51, was the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (joint post).
Salary: £80,000.
Role: Briefed reporters that David Kelly was "Walter Mitty" character.
Now: Promoted to chief spokesman on £100,000.

The Whitehall intelligence chief
Sir John Scarlett, 58, was chairman of Whitehall's Joint Intelligence Committee.
Salary: £130,000.
Role: Accused of acting as "human shield" for Alastair Campbell. Scarlett insisted he had "overall charge and responsibility" of the Iraq intelligence report - No 10 had not meddled.
Now: Promoted in 2005 to the most glamorous job in British intelligence: Chief of MI6. Known as "C". Salary up to £200,000.

The deputy intelligence chief
Martin Howard, 52, was Deputy Chief of Defence Intelligence.
Salary: £90,000.
Role: Insisted Downing Street had no knowledge that 45-minute claim was wrong.
Now: Still at MoD as Director General of Operational Policy on a salary of £100,000.

The Chief of Staff
Julian Miller, 51, was Chief of the Intelligence Assessment Staff, Cabinet Office.
Salary: £80,000.
Role: Defended Alastair Campbell, suggested David Kelly was too junior to have had access to crucial intelligence.
Now: Made Companion of the Order of the Bath. Director-General of Resources and Plans in the MoD on £100,000.

The Inquiry Secretary
Lee Hughes, late 40s, was Secretary to the Hutton Inquiry.
Salary: £50,000.
Role: Managed day-to-day logistics of the hearing.
Now: Made CBE. Promoted to senior role in Department of Constitutional Affairs, on £60,000.

The MoD Press Officer
Kate Wilson, late 30s, was chief Press officer at MoD.
Salary: £50,000.
Role: Responsible for strategy that led to Kelly's "outing". Journalists were told in advance that if they gave the correct name, the MoD would confirm it.
Now: Honoured with an OBE "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in connection with operations in Iraq". Still chief Press officer at MoD. Salary around £60,000.

The PM's top foreign adviser
Sir David Manning, 57, was Tony Blair's chief foreign policy adviser.
Salary: £120,000.
Role: Present at all Downing Street sofa summits leading up to the war.
Now: Promoted to Washington Ambassador, the most sought-after job in the diplomatic service. The post comes with armoured Rolls-Royce and sprawling residence. Basic salary £130,000 plus tax-free allowances of £90,000.

The top civil servant
Sir Kevin Tebbit, 60, was Permanent Under Secretary of State at MoD.
Salary: up to £264,250.
Role: Sir Kevin admitted "responsibility" but not "culpability" for Kelly's death.
Now: Enjoying comfortable semi-retirement as non-executive director of the Smiths Aerospace group on £60,000 a year and is also a visiting professor at Queen Mary College, London.

The MI6 supremo
Sir Richard Dearlove, 61, was Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service - MI6.
Salary: up to £200,000.
Role: Insisted to Hutton he was not aware of any unhappiness within the intelligence community over the 45-minute claim.
Now: Living in genteel retirement as Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge, on Civil Service pension of up to £100,000
www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=421572&in_page_id=1770

[Peter Presland]

From the Mail Online:

Dr Michael Powers QC, who is leading the group of doctors campaigning for an inquest into Dr Kelly’s death, described the loss of the paperwork as ‘quite frankly astonishing’.
He said: ‘The fact that such an important document has gone missing simply strengthens the case for an inquest.
‘It was clear to everyone at the time that Dr Kelly’s death was a very significant event and the value of all contemporaneous documents should have been recognised. All documents should have been carefully copied.’
However, the trust says it can’t find either the original document or a copy scanned into its computer system, even though it has a policy of storing such documents for ten years.....

The admission follows a year-long wrangle over a Freedom of Information request for documents concerning Dr Kelly’s death.
They included communications between the trust and the paramedics, minutes of any relevant meetings, and all correspondence with the coroner.
After waiting more than the statutory 20 working days deadline for replies, the trust eventually claimed it held no relevant information. A complaint was then lodged with the Information Commissioner. During the course of these follow-up inquiries the trust admitted it had mislaid the PRF.
In his ruling, which will be made public this week, the commissioner states: ‘[The trust] explained that it would have expected to have had a PRF. It explained that this form would only include clinical assessment information about Dr Kelly and would not contain any other information. It explained that this form had been mislaid.
It explained that the information was usually digitised and held electronically by date in its PRF archives.
‘However, having checked its system for all the entries on the date of the incident, and the dates one day either side to ensure it was not misfiled, it could not find the relevant form. It was supposed to keep this form for ten years in line with its policy. The Commissioner has checked what this form would contain and is satisfied that it would only contain clinical assessment information.’

The Mail Online report includes extended interviews with the two paramedics who repeat their unvarying observations that: "David Kelly's body had obviously been moved" and includes these telling observations:

The paramedic gave evidence to the Hutton Inquiry, but said: ‘I thought they’d already decided the outcome and wanted someone to confirm it for them. They’d decided it was going to be suicide and that was all cut and dried.
‘I wasn’t impressed with how it was conducted. It should have been under oath, the photographs of the scene should have been released and they shouldn’t have sealed the documents for 70 years.’

[David Guyatt]

The admission follows a year-long wrangle over a Freedom of Information request for documents concerning Dr Kelly’s death.

If you can't release it - destroy or lose it!

It must have been a damning document that potentially would have vaporized the official Kelly suicide explanation.

[Jan Klimkowski]

I seem to remember the First Responder report after Tiger Woods' matrimonial tiff involving a fire hydrant, a golf club and a betrayed wife, was broadcast on national and international telly.

Bread and circuses to distract the masses....

[Magda Hassan]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/inter...elly-iraq1
David Kelly death: postmortem examination report



http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/inter...kelly-iraq
David Kelly death: toxicologist's report

[Paul Rigby]

No question where the brains lie among this pair of Dykes:

Greg Dyke: BBC at fault for the decline in its reputation

Vanessa Thorpe, arts and media correspondent
The Observer, Sunday 24 October 2010

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/oct...avid-kelly

Dyke said that he recalls every moment of the weekend of Kelly's death, and his decision, at the bereaved family's request, to hold back confirmation that Kelly had spoken to BBC journalists. "My wife was convinced that the security services had killed Dr Kelly. But I think the minute Lord Hutton ruled that the medical reports should be kept for 70 years, it was obvious there would be conspiracy theories.

"Why did he do that? Maybe this will be the end of the Kelly affair, but it is interesting that it has come back again," said Dyke. "I am not a conspiracy theorist; I think Dr Kelly killed himself, but I met some Australian spies once who were pretty convinced that MI6 had killed him."

[David Guyatt]

Nice move by our new Conservative government to release the Kelly post-mortem report which, completely unsurprisingly, brings nothing new to the table.

The fact remains that senior physicians and lawyers who continue to believe the manner of death as officially reported makes no sense at all and have repeatedly called for a full and proper inquest - rather than the political nonsense that we know as the "Hutton Report".

[Albert Doyle]

If you follow the money on this the world's energy reserves were being compromised at the turn of the millennium. Venezuela's Chavez, Russia, India, and China all stood in a position to dominate the world's oil supply and put the squeeze on the west. The Nixon-era plan to invade the Middle East to secure its energy reserves was put in place. The 1991 Persian Gulf War created just enough pretext to allow America to slip back in there under the guise of fighting Saddam Hussein who had lobbed missiles at Israel. The divide and conquer politics of backing Israel against the arabs was doing its intended job and created the pretext for America to do an outright invasion and occupation under the Project For A New American Century.

WMD, or Weapons Of Mass Destruction, are military nomenclature straight from the Pentagon's playbooks. They really should have disguised the source of the information better because using the word "WMD" showed too easily the source of both it and those from whom it originated. But then again they weren't too bashful about hiding it at that point.

These agencies and their war machines run on oil. Threaten them and they will get very nasty very quickly and without any civilized recourse.

[David Guyatt]

Using a combination of "follow the money" and "Occam's razor", it is, indeed, very hard not to conclude that Iraq - and now Iran - have been targeted simply because of their massive oil reserves (Saudi and the other big Gulf states are already in the Western bag).

Controlling the world's largest oil reserves mean you control the world.

China & India, the two new emerging super industrial giants would, under this scenario, be almost entirely dependent upon American goodwill for their energy supplies. Go figure.

[Magda Hassan]

I would also say it was not just the oil but also the currency in which it is paid for that has something to do with being in the crosshairs.