*Ø* Blogmanac | Dr. Kelly: "I'll be found dead in the woods"

From the Guardian, 22 August

The weapons specialist, Dr David Kelly, said six months ago that he would "probably be found dead in the woods" if the American and British invasion of Iraq went ahead, Lord Hutton's inquiry was told yesterday.

His chilling prediction of his own death during a conversation with the British diplomat David Broucher in Geneva in February, throws new light on his state of mind about the row over Britain's role in the Iraq war.

In a startling string of revelations yesterday, Lord Hutton's inquiry was told that Dr Kelly:

-- confirmed there had been a "robust" debate between Downing Street and the intelligence services about the September dossier on weapons of mass destruction

-- expressed scepticism about British claims that Iraq's weapons capability could be deployed quickly

-- had been in direct contact with senior Iraqi scientists and officials he knew, promising them the war could be avoided

-- feared he had "betrayed" these contacts and that the invasion had left him in a "morally ambiguous" position.

Full Guardian text
Transcripts of sessions at Hutton Inquiry website