David Kelly

David Christopher Kelly was a Welsh scientist and authority on biological warfare (BW). In July 2003 he had an off-the-record conversation with Andrew Gilligan, a BBC journalist; during their discussion they talked about the 2002 dossier on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, which stated that some of Iraq's chemical and biological weapons were deployable within 45 minutes. When Gilligan reported this on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he stated that the 45 minute claim was included at the insistence of Alastair Campbell, the Downing Street Director of Communications—something Kelly denied. The government complained to the BBC about the claim, but they refused to recant on the claim; political tumult between Downing Street and the BBC developed. Kelly informed his line managers in the MoD that he may have been the source, but did not think he was the only one, as Gilligan had reported points he had not mentioned. Kelly's name became known to the media, and he was called to appear on 15 July before the parliamentary Intelligence and Security and Foreign Affairs Select committees. Two days later Kelly was found dead near his home.