MP defends Commons committee’s treatment of Dr Kelly
Labour MP Andrew Mackinlay has defended the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee “grilling” of government scientist Dr David Kelly.
Mr Mackinlay, a member of the cross-party committee, told the Hutton Inquiry into Dr Kelly’s death that he believed he had been justified in suggesting that Dr Kelly had been set up as the government’s “fall guy” over allegations of weapons intelligence tampering in the run up to the Iraq war.
Dr Kelly was named as the Ministry of Defence “mole” who spoke to BBC defence correspondent Andrew Gilligan about the way in which a dossier on Iraqi weapons was compiled.
The body of the Iraq arms expert was found at a beauty spot near his Oxfordshire home three days after he appeared before the committee of MPs. He appeared to have slit one of his wrists.
Mr Mackinlay said this morning that he had felt angry for Dr Kelly, who had convinced him he was not the source for Mr Gilligan’s report on The Today Programme.
The MP claimed that he did not believe “this business of him (Dr Kelly) coming forward voluntarily”, but stressed that it was “important” for the Foreign Affairs Committee to inquire about Mr Gilligan’s source.
He added that it was reasonable sometimes to put questions “in quite trenchant terms to see if a person gives a reaction”.
Mr Mackinlay has already apologised to Dr Kelly’s family about the questions he put during the committee hearing.
Quizzed about Dr Kelly’s demeanour during questioning on July 15th, Mr Mackinlay said, “He was softly spoken, I thought very controlled, except for two people who accompanied him and sat immediately behind him.
“I immediately started to imagine that he had been briefed, programmed, that these were his two minders.”
Questioned by Lord Hutton about an email sent by Mr Gilligan to the Liberal Democrats, suggesting questions to ask Dr Kelly, Mr Mackinlay said, “”I think it is an affront that I was going to be fed this by someone so central to all the debate and discussion. It’s absolutely outrageous.”
He said of the committee’s inquiry into the Iraq war that he was an “enthusiastic advocate because so many MPs had raised concerns about the allied invasion
He also accused Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon of “monumental cheek” in asking the committee to question Dr Kelly for just 45 minutes and not on the wider issues about weapons of mass destruction.
Head of the Joint Intelligence Committee, John Scarlett will appear before the Hutton Inquiry later today. Mr Scarlett was involved in drawing up the so-called “dodgy dossier” on Iraqi arms and has already declared that he was happy with its contents.
Tomorrow defence secretary Geoff Hoon appears before Lord Hutton, amid rumours that he is close to resigning, followed by Prime Minister Tony Blair on Thursday.
