Blair Cleared Of "Dishonourable Conduct"

[CShine]

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has been cleared by a judicial probe into the suicide of a weapons expert who claimed Downing Street "sexed up" intelligence prior to the Iraq war.

But the probe reportedly rebuked the Ministry of Defence and delivered a "devastating indictment" of the BBC and its reporter, Andrew Gilligan, over the case.

The results of the report by retired Law Lord Brian Hutton are due to be released publicly tomorrow, but have been published in today's Sun tabloid which said it had been leaked a copy.

"As far as Tony Blair is concerned, he is cleared completely of any dishonourable conduct in the naming strategy for Dr David Kelly," said The Sun's political editor Trevor Kavanagh.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/01/28/1075088056897.html

[sweetheart]

1. It appears that Dr. Kelly was not a suicide

The following letter is in the print edition of yesterday's guardian:


As specialist medical professionals, we do not consider the evidence given at the Hutton inquiry had demonstrated that Dr. David Kelly committed suicide.
Dr Nicholas Hunt, the forensic pathologist at the Hutton inquiry, concluded that Dr Kelly bled to death from a self-inflicted wound to his left wrist. We view this as highly improbable. Arteries in the wrist are of matchstick thickness and severing them does not lead to life-threatening blood loss. Dr Hunt stated that the only artery that had been cut - the ulnar artery - had been completely transected. Complete transection causes the artery to quicly retract and close down, and this promotes clotting of the blood.
The ambulance team reported that the quantity of blood at the scene was minimal and surprisingly small. It is extremely difficult to lose significant amounts of blood at a pressure below 50-60 systolic in a subject who is compensating by vasoconstricting. To have died from haemorrhage, Dr Kelly would have had to lose about five pints of blood - it is unlikely that he wold have lost more than a pint. Alexander Allan, the forensic toxicologist at the inquiry, considered the amount ingested of Co-Proxamol insufficient to have caused death. Allan could not show that Dr. Kelly had ingested teh 29 tablets said to be missing from the packets found. Only a fifth of one tablet was found in his stomach. Although levels of Co-Proxamol in the blood were higher than theraputic levels, Allan conceded that the blood level of each of teh drug's two components was less than a third of what would normall be found in a fatal overdose.
We dispute that Dr Kelly could have died from haemorrhage or from Co=Proxamol ingestion or from both. The coroner, Nicholas Gerdiner, has spoken recently of resuming the inquest into his death. If it re-opens, as in our opinion it should, a clear need exists to scrutinise even more closely Dr Hunt's conclusions as to the cause of death.

David Halpin
Specialist in trauma and orthapaedic surgery
C Stephen Frost
Specialist in diagnostic radiology
Searle Sennett
Specialist in anaesthesiaology
[e-mail]

[aquart]

3. May they live long and healthy lives.

I wouldn't personally bet on it, however.

[J B]

5. So they don't know the cause of death.

Goddamn.

I'd held out from agreeing with my best friend that the guy was murdered because I hadn't seen evidence contradicting the medical examiner's testimony.

This does the trick.

If the medical examiner had found evidence of a fatal allergic reaction, then I might believe that was the cause. Might. Not would. Sadly, murder should be what any open-minded investigator would now suspect.

When does Grissom get a chance at the body? Oh, wait, he's on TV.

[joeunderdog]

7. WOW Can't be much clearer.

It get's uglier and uglier.

Too bad it's not news here.

[Briar]

2. Hutton may have cleared Bliar

but that doesn't mean that the rest of us have. We saw the evidence too, and we have no interest in saving the face of the establishment. Bliar's lies and plotting were exposed to the light of day, and won't be forgotten.

If further evidence were needed of the hypocrisy and dishonesty of the current government, just look at cunningly timed and placed leak, to the pro-war, BBC hating Sun, allowing just the sort of pre-emptive spin that Campbell (cleared though he may have been by the servile Hutton) specialises in.

We will never know who is behind the leak (10 Downing Street won't allow a real investigation) anymore than we will ever know who was behind the Wilson leak in the US - but we know whose interests were served by the leaking, and from that it is not difficult to deduce the culprit.

[Elwood P Dowd]

4. Bush cleared of dishonourable conduct and AWOL charges

Recent documents have appeared in the office of Attorney General
John Asscroft proving beyond a shadow of doubt that George W. Harry
Bush was defending his country during his service in the Alabama
Air Force National Guard.

Recently released documents reveal Bush was piloting Alabama dust
crop biplanes spraying anti-war protestors at The University Of
Alabama and at Auburn University during his assignment. Asscroft also
stated that recently recovered documents reveal that Bush's heroic
actions prevented the port at Mobile Bay from being overrun by
waves of Vietnamese with nuclear and biological weapons.

[Must_B_Free]

6. This proves he was guilty

trying to disassociate himself from the obvious.

Now we know who had Kelley murdered.

[dusty64]

8. Looks like they

get away with another one.

[papau]

9. independent inquiryneed . Hutton didn't review intelligence-beyond scope?

Lord Hutton failed to settle the crucial question of whether Mr Blair took Britain to war in Iraq on a false prospectus. After he ruled that the intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction was beyond his terms of reference, the Tories and Liberal Democrats renewed their demands for an independent inquiry into the build-up to war.

[Matilda]

10. So, the evil Dr Kelly was telling lies and misleading everyone

about WMD, but sadly, he's dead and can't defend himself, so let's
just declare everybody else innocent of everything, and we can all
go home, have a nice cup of tea, and watch telly.

Do they really think this is the end of the matter?

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

11. Well, of course they are cleared of the suicide... it was murder

The wrong assumptions were used.

Outrageous.

[vanityfair]

12. Cshine...

This isn't too surprising, given that Blair and * were in cahoots. The British are just following the US example of covering everything up.

Too bad the public doesn't buy this BS.



BTW - I LOVE your signature picture!