Evening Standard: Analysis: David Kelly and the Hutton Inquiry
By David Rowan
THE picture of David Kelly that emerges from the first eight days of the Hutton Inquiry is of an outwardly composed yet deeply isolated man, lacking anyone with whom he could share his burdens. His tragedy is that, with the habitual discretion and independence of mind that made him such an effective arms inspector, he chose to bear these pressures alone as the Government hung him out to dry.
To Dr Kelly, personal integrity and professional reputation were all. So concerned was he about finding himself in a "morally ambiguous position" should war be declared - thus appearing to have lied to senior Iraqi officials who co-operated with him - that as long ago as last February he seemed "in some personal difficulty or embarrassment". As David Broucher, a senior British diplomat, revealed yesterday, when the two men met in Geneva Dr Kelly said that if Iraq were invaded, "I will probably be found dead in the woods". It was an eerie premonition of his apparent suicide.
Dr Kelly's death, days after facing MPs on the foreign affairs committee about his briefing of the BBC's Andrew Gilligan, followed a series of high-pressure meetings with his bosses. The Ministry of Defence's top civil servant, Sir Kevin Tebbit, wrote to the Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon, asking that the committee go easy on a man who "is not used to being thrust into the public eye, and is not on trial".
That request was overruled, even though, as the inquiry heard, Dr Kelly was "clearly very nervous". As a Foreign Office official noted: "Kelly is apparently feeling the pressure and does not appear to be handlingit well."
But Dr Kelly did not share his concerns with colleagues, and we do not yet know how much he unburdened himself to his family. He retained his cool even as the Riot Act was read to him by the MoD personnel director. As his manager, Bryan Wells, told the inquiry: "He was composed throughout. It is not a comfortable experience for anyone to receive that kind of message."
Alastair Campbell, for his part, justified naming Dr Kelly by saying the scientist's emotional wellbeing had not figured in the Government's calculations. After all, he was "a very strong, resolute character ... who had been in many difficult, stressful circumstances". He was certainly not the "Walter Mitty character" who Tom Kelly, the Downing Street spokesman, claimed had exaggerated his importance.
Dr Kelly was one of Britain's top experts on biological weapons, working for the MoD and Foreign Office with high levels of security clearance, and valuable to the intelligence services, the UN and the CIA. "Hopefully it will soon pass," he wrote in an email the day before he died, "and I can get to Baghdad and get on with the real work."
As his friend Tom Mangold wrote before Dr Kelly's death: "He is an inspector's inspector ... in Iraq, the most feared. He is quiet, persistent, well informed, scientifically indomitable [with his] soft voice and semantic precision. You take on Kelly, you take on a truly hard man. The Iraqis know this and treat him with respect."
His last weeks, though, remain "full of conundrums", according to another friend, toxicology professor Alistair Hay, who believes Downing Street turned on him in a "monstrous" display of bullying. "There was pressure coming from the top - from Tony Blair and Geoff Hoon down - to ensure he would appear before the committee," Professor Hay said last night.
"They clearly hoped he'd refute what he'd said to Gilligan. It's clear that he was put under huge, remorseless pressure - it must have been bloody grim."
Professor Hay does not read too much into Dr Kelly's comments about being found in the woods. "If he felt that strongly about a breach of trust, would he not have acted at the time we went to war? Why wait?" He also finds it difficult to reconcile this with other evidence that Dr Kelly was "sympathetic" to the war. Such apparent inconsistencies recur in the inquiry evidence. Dr Kelly, for instance, told Nicholas Rufford of the Sunday Times that Gilligan's account of their conversation was "bullshit".
What is certain is that the pressure got to him. "He could see no way out," Professor Hay said. "I'm not sure how much he said to his family - was he trying to protect them?" He believes the Government was wrong to force Dr Kelly to give evidence. "There's only so much an individual can take."
DR Kelly had not previously shown signs of inability to cope, Professor Hay said. "He was someone who'd faced considerable pressure in the past - but he was always acting with the support of the UN and his own government." As his family said shortly after his death: "David's professional life was characterised by integrity, honour and dedication to finding the truth - often in the most difficult of circumstances." For a scientist with no one to turn to, there could be no more difficult circumstance than inconveniencing a government fighting to save its reputation.
THE LATEST KEY POINTS
-Dr David Kelly said in February that if Iraq was attacked he would "probably be found dead in the woods". He told diplomat David Broucher, who took it to be a throwaway remark. The scientist had assured Iraqi contacts that they would not be attacked if they disarmed. He feared that if war went ahead anyway, he would have betrayed them.
-After questioning by Ministry of Defence chiefs over his links with the BBC, Dr Kelly told a reporter he had been "put through the wringer".
-He dismissed as "bullshit" the core charge in Andrew Gilligan's Today programme report, blaming No10 for "sexing up" the weapons dossier, and said he had only spoken to the BBC reporter about factual matters.
-Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon blocked MPs from asking Dr Kelly about weapons of mass destruction and the Government dossier. He said the foreign affairs committee could only ask about Dr Kelly's dealings with the BBC.
-Dr Kelly said he was "shocked" that the MoD had named him publicly because he thought the matter would be handled confidentially.
(Evening Standard, August 22 2003)
THE picture of David Kelly that emerges from the first eight days of the Hutton Inquiry is of an outwardly composed yet deeply isolated man, lacking anyone with whom he could share his burdens. His tragedy is that, with the habitual discretion and independence of mind that made him such an effective arms inspector, he chose to bear these pressures alone as the Government hung him out to dry.
To Dr Kelly, personal integrity and professional reputation were all. So concerned was he about finding himself in a "morally ambiguous position" should war be declared - thus appearing to have lied to senior Iraqi officials who co-operated with him - that as long ago as last February he seemed "in some personal difficulty or embarrassment". As David Broucher, a senior British diplomat, revealed yesterday, when the two men met in Geneva Dr Kelly said that if Iraq were invaded, "I will probably be found dead in the woods". It was an eerie premonition of his apparent suicide.
Dr Kelly's death, days after facing MPs on the foreign affairs committee about his briefing of the BBC's Andrew Gilligan, followed a series of high-pressure meetings with his bosses. The Ministry of Defence's top civil servant, Sir Kevin Tebbit, wrote to the Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon, asking that the committee go easy on a man who "is not used to being thrust into the public eye, and is not on trial".
That request was overruled, even though, as the inquiry heard, Dr Kelly was "clearly very nervous". As a Foreign Office official noted: "Kelly is apparently feeling the pressure and does not appear to be handlingit well."
But Dr Kelly did not share his concerns with colleagues, and we do not yet know how much he unburdened himself to his family. He retained his cool even as the Riot Act was read to him by the MoD personnel director. As his manager, Bryan Wells, told the inquiry: "He was composed throughout. It is not a comfortable experience for anyone to receive that kind of message."
Alastair Campbell, for his part, justified naming Dr Kelly by saying the scientist's emotional wellbeing had not figured in the Government's calculations. After all, he was "a very strong, resolute character ... who had been in many difficult, stressful circumstances". He was certainly not the "Walter Mitty character" who Tom Kelly, the Downing Street spokesman, claimed had exaggerated his importance.
Dr Kelly was one of Britain's top experts on biological weapons, working for the MoD and Foreign Office with high levels of security clearance, and valuable to the intelligence services, the UN and the CIA. "Hopefully it will soon pass," he wrote in an email the day before he died, "and I can get to Baghdad and get on with the real work."
As his friend Tom Mangold wrote before Dr Kelly's death: "He is an inspector's inspector ... in Iraq, the most feared. He is quiet, persistent, well informed, scientifically indomitable [with his] soft voice and semantic precision. You take on Kelly, you take on a truly hard man. The Iraqis know this and treat him with respect."
His last weeks, though, remain "full of conundrums", according to another friend, toxicology professor Alistair Hay, who believes Downing Street turned on him in a "monstrous" display of bullying. "There was pressure coming from the top - from Tony Blair and Geoff Hoon down - to ensure he would appear before the committee," Professor Hay said last night.
"They clearly hoped he'd refute what he'd said to Gilligan. It's clear that he was put under huge, remorseless pressure - it must have been bloody grim."
Professor Hay does not read too much into Dr Kelly's comments about being found in the woods. "If he felt that strongly about a breach of trust, would he not have acted at the time we went to war? Why wait?" He also finds it difficult to reconcile this with other evidence that Dr Kelly was "sympathetic" to the war. Such apparent inconsistencies recur in the inquiry evidence. Dr Kelly, for instance, told Nicholas Rufford of the Sunday Times that Gilligan's account of their conversation was "bullshit".
What is certain is that the pressure got to him. "He could see no way out," Professor Hay said. "I'm not sure how much he said to his family - was he trying to protect them?" He believes the Government was wrong to force Dr Kelly to give evidence. "There's only so much an individual can take."
DR Kelly had not previously shown signs of inability to cope, Professor Hay said. "He was someone who'd faced considerable pressure in the past - but he was always acting with the support of the UN and his own government." As his family said shortly after his death: "David's professional life was characterised by integrity, honour and dedication to finding the truth - often in the most difficult of circumstances." For a scientist with no one to turn to, there could be no more difficult circumstance than inconveniencing a government fighting to save its reputation.
THE LATEST KEY POINTS
-Dr David Kelly said in February that if Iraq was attacked he would "probably be found dead in the woods". He told diplomat David Broucher, who took it to be a throwaway remark. The scientist had assured Iraqi contacts that they would not be attacked if they disarmed. He feared that if war went ahead anyway, he would have betrayed them.
-After questioning by Ministry of Defence chiefs over his links with the BBC, Dr Kelly told a reporter he had been "put through the wringer".
-He dismissed as "bullshit" the core charge in Andrew Gilligan's Today programme report, blaming No10 for "sexing up" the weapons dossier, and said he had only spoken to the BBC reporter about factual matters.
-Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon blocked MPs from asking Dr Kelly about weapons of mass destruction and the Government dossier. He said the foreign affairs committee could only ask about Dr Kelly's dealings with the BBC.
-Dr Kelly said he was "shocked" that the MoD had named him publicly because he thought the matter would be handled confidentially.
(Evening Standard, August 22 2003)
posted by David Rowan at Friday, August 22, 2003
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