A Most Consequential Death

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Archive on 4: A Most Consequential Death

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BBC Radio 4 - Archive on 4, A Most Consequential Death

Exploring the inside story of the death of Dr David Kelly 20 years on.

Steve Richards retraces the tragic story of the scientist and weapons expert Dr David Kelly who died after becoming embroiled in a bitter dispute between the government and the BBC

The discovery of the body of Dr David Kelly on 18th July 2003 in the woods on Harrowdown Hill in Oxfordshire shocked the world. Just two months earlier, in the aftermath of the invasion of Iraq, the scientist and former UN weapons inspector had met a BBC journalist, Andrew Gilligan at a London hotel. Their conversation formed the basis of Gilligan's infamous report on the BBC's Today programme, suggesting the then Labour government had 'sexed up' a dossier on Iraq's WMD in the lead up to the war. Gilligan's report triggered a bitter dispute between the BBC and government figures led by Tony Blair's communications director Alastair Campbell. As the row escalated, Dr Kelly was publicly outed as a possible source for the Gilligan report and called to parliament to be grilled by MPs on the Foreign Affairs Committee.  As pressure on him mounted, Dr Kelly went missing. He was found dead and ruled to have taken his own life.

The journalist Steve Richards reported at the time on the long hot summer of 2003 and its turbulent aftermath - from the original BBC report to the Hutton Inquiry hastily convened to investigate Dr Kelly's death which sent further shockwaves through the heart of the media, politics and power. In this major documentary, he retraces a poignant, compelling and profoundly human story from its outset to its consequences, with the help of fascinating archive and new interviews. He talks to key players in the story, friends and associates of Dr Kelly, and senior figures in the government, Whitehall and the BBC. 

What was it like for those closely involved? How does it affect them still? What lessons have they learned? How will Dr David Kelly be remembered?

Producer: Leala Padmanabhan
Additional research by Laura Wilkinson
Programme mixed by Hal Haines

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