The search helicopter - FoI request (1)

In 2011 Thames Valley Police published responses to Freedom of Information requests about the search helicopter.  This is the first one:

08 March 2011, 11:38 am

Introduction

This request, reference RFI2010000727, was received on Tuesday 26 October 2010, 11:38am.

Question

1) I wish to make a Freedom of Information request regarding the log of the Police Helicopter with respect to the search for Dr. David Kelly after the report that he was missing (approx. 23.40 on 17th July 2003, I understand). I ask for a copy of the Police helicopter log for the relevant search and for the following specific information 2) At what time did the helicopter begin to search for heat sources? 3) Further, I wish to ask if the helicopter surveyed Harrowdown Hill, if so at what time Harrowdown Hill was surveyed and if any heat source was identified there. 4) Finally, I ask for identification of the make and model of the heat seeking equipment in the helicopter and the date/time on which it was last tested prior to the search of interest.

Response

1&2) Please see via the below PDF document a copy of two helicopter logs.  Within this document, some information has been redacted.  
The exemptions applicable to the redacted information are:
Section 30(1)(a)(b)(c) – Investigations and proceedings conducted by a public authority.
Section 40(2) – Personal Data.
Section 40 is a class based absolute exemption and as such the legislators have identified that there would be harm in disclosure and there is not need to evidence this.
Section 30 is prejudiced based qualified exemption which requires the prejudice (harm) to be evidenced.
Several types of harm may be generated by the disclosure of the redacted information within the helicopter logs.  Future police operations may be prejudiced if operational information is inappropriately disclosed into the public domain.  This may ultimately result in safety implications for the general public and police officers, placing the well being of citizens at risk and compromise the ability of the force to prevent and detect crime and protect life and/or property.
The helicopter logs also detail deployment times.
3) The helicopter crew were asked to survey an area which included Harrowdown Hill. There were no relevant heat sources identified. The thermal imagers fitted to police helicopters in 2003 were not penetrative. In the case of woods or copses, unless it is winter or the woods are sparsely populated with trees, the leaf canopies and branches very often preclude any meaningful thermal imager search as the thermal imager cannot penetrate the leaf canopy.
4) The camera used was a FLIR Leo 2. The camera is subject to routine maintenance in line with aircraft maintenance schedules. It was working correctly at the time of the incident. It was last serviced on 27th June 2003.

http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/aboutus/aboutus-depts/aboutus-depts-infman/aboutus-depts-foi/aboutus-depts-foi-disclosure-log/aboutus-depts-foi-disclosure-log-investigate/rfi2010000727_helicopter_reports_1_-2.pdf opens the helicopter logs.

The 10.25 to 11.00 entry in the log isn't part of the search operation and, although very important, doesn't relate to this post.

The search helicopter - some useful information

Evidence at the Hutton Inquiry about the search helicopter was given by Mrs Kelly.  Subsequently DS Webb and ACC Page referred to the helicopter but revealed little other than at some unspecified time Sergeant Morris had called for its use.

MP Norman Baker wasn't very happy about the paucity of detail and in 2006 asked questions.  The ministerial responses were from Mr Ingram on 2 June and from Mr McNulty on 6 July and 13 September.  The respective Hansard entries regarding the three questions and answers can be read at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmhansrd/vo060605/text/60605w0008.htm#06060519000016 and http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmhansrd/vo060706/text/60706w0021.htm#06070727003551 and http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmhansrd/vo060913/text/60913w0040.htm

When one reads these ministerial responses it can be seen just how far removed the facts given are from the comments made by Mrs Kelly.  According to McNulty at least the helicopter search started at 02.50 rather than at about 1 o'clock - the time that Mrs Kelly mentioned.  Also it was the Luton helicopter and not the Benson one.  There are two possibilities here it seems to me: either Mrs Kelly was hopelessly wrong or there was an earlier search that the authorities didn't want to reveal.

Number 73 in the "Schedule of responses to the issues raised" includes this information about the times of the helicopter search flights:

Two flights were made in the early hours of 18/7/03 as follows:
At 02.50 it deployed to search for Dr Kelly.
At 03.20 it arrived on scene
At 04.05 running low on fuel it went to base to refuel.

At 04.25 hrs it re-launched.
At 04.35 hrs it arrived back on scene
At 04.45 hrs it resumed back to base. (The pilot was running out of legal flying hours.)

From these figures it can be seen that the first search took 45 minutes  but that the second after refuelling was just 10 minutes because the pilot was at risk of going over his permitted flying hours.

At 5.15 on the morning of 18 July ACC Page chairs a meeting and Mr Dingemans asks him about it:

Q. What was the result of your meeting at 5.15?
A. Well the result of my meeting was that we began to establish a search pattern. As a holding measure,  I asked for officers who were reinforcement officers who were arriving about this stage -- we had between 30 and 40 officers available to us, and I asked them to start searching outward from Dr Kelly's house. I asked for the helicopter to be brought into play again.

There is no record of the helicopter being brought into play again.  As we know from the information above the pilot was running out of legal flying hours but wasn't there another pilot available?  Whatever Hutton fails to ask questions about this.

The search helicopter - evidence at the Inquiry

In my last post but one I had quoted that part of Mrs Kelly's evidence that dealt with one of her daughters calling the police a little before midnight and three officers arriving with a missing persons form.  She also stated: I explained the situation that David had been in and it seemed immediately to go up to Chief Constable level.  The three officers having arrived at her home her evidence continues as follows:

Q. Then it is referred up as far as you are aware?
A. Yes, it is referred up and the search begins. TheThames Valley helicopter had gone off duty by that time so they had to wait for the Benson helicopter to come across.
Q. That is RAF Benson, is it?
A. That is right.
Q. So the helicopter was involved in searching?
A. Indeed it was, and tracker dogs too, I believe.
Q. Could you hear the helicopter?
A. Yes, it came and the police switched on their blue light on their vehicles so it could pinpoint the position of our house, the starting point for David's walk.
Q. What time did the helicopter start searching, do you remember?
A. It must have been about 1 o'clock. I am not sure.
Q. How many police were there then?
A. Certainly the three were there. I think they may have been joined by a couple more by this stage.

Hutton had just heard evidence from a non specialist about the use of a search helicopter.  It has to be asked why Mrs Kelly started talking about what helicopter was where when she wasn't even invited to discuss the helicopter.

There is this passing reference to the helicopter by Detective Sergeant Webb in his evidence the following day, DS Webb having arrived at the point of mentioning the uniformed sergeant who spent time at the Kelly home:

Q. What were you doing while you were at Abingdon police station?
A. I was briefed on what had gone on previously.
Q. Who by?

A. By various people, including a uniformed sergeant who had been -- who had spent the night with the Kelly family and who had originally taken the report of Dr Kelly's disappearance.
Q. Do you remember who that was?
A. His name was Sergeant Simon Morris.
Q. He had come back to the police station?
A. He returned to Abingdon police station and briefed those present of what had gone on during the night.
Q. What had gone on during the night?
A. As I understand it, they had done some searching of the area, as much as they could possibly do in the dark.
Q. Who had done that?
A. Uniformed police officers.
Q. Do you remember how many?
A. I could not say at the moment.
Q. Were you told about a helicopter that had been used?
A. I understand the helicopter had been used in an attempt to find any sort of zones of heat, I believe they call that.
Q. What had been the result of those night-time searches?
A. They were all negative. 

So it can be seen that DS Webb's knowledge about the helicopter is very much second hand and he provides little detail. 

The day after DS Webb gives his evidence and it's the turn of Assistant Chief Constable Page to make his first contribution to the Inquiry.  He describes getting called out and his subsequent actions:

Q. We have heard there was a report to the police at 11.40 on 17th July in the evening.
A. That is correct.
Q. When did you become aware of that report?
A. I received a telephone call at 3.09 am on Friday morning.
Q. So some four hours later?
A. Yes.
Q. Is it normal for a missing person report to get up to Assistant Chief Constable level as quickly as that?
A. Only where there are vulnerable or exacerbating factors to the missing person.
Q. What were those vulnerable or exacerbating circumstances?
A. Well, all missing persons are subject to an assessment and the officers at the scene carried out an assessment.
Q. Do you know who the officer at the scene was?
A. Sergeant Morris.
Q. We have heard he was from Abingdon police station, is that correct?
A. Yes.
Q. He carried out an assessment?
A. That is right, which rated Dr Kelly as a medium risk missing person.  

Q. What does that mean, is that a good or bad thing?
A. Neither good nor bad in many respects. But it raises our awareness of issues around that person and prompts us to take certain actions.
Q. What are those actions?
A. Normally the notification of the senior officer so that any specialist resources that are required can be obtained. In this particular case, that assessment was arrived at which prompted a call to the officer's area commander, as it would do.
Q. The area commander is what rank?
A. Chief Superintendent. She, on receipt of the information, coupled with her knowledge of Dr Kelly and the circumstances that surrounded him --
Q. She had watched the news?
A. She had watched the news and because he was a resident in her area, she was perhaps a little more aware of what was going on, and she decided that adding those circumstances to the standard assessment --
Q. The medium risk?
A. The medium risk raised it somewhat higher and she rang me almost immediately.
Q. That is why you get the call in the morning?
A. Absolutely.
Q. What did you do?
A. I listened very carefully to what had happened thus far and made my own assessment of the actions that had been taken.
Q. What had been done so far?
A. There had been a reasonably thorough search of Dr Kelly's house and the surrounding grounds.

Q. Who had done that?
A. That had been carried out by Sergeant Morris and officers from the night shift at Abingdon. They were later supplemented by a police dog which had been used to assist in the search. I do apologise for my voice.  So that search had been conducted at the scene. The police helicopter had also been called out and had been making intermittent searches around the area of the house using heat seeking equipment.
Q. So who had been responsible for calling out the police helicopter?
A. Sergeant Morris.
Q. Where is that helicopter based? We have heard it came from RAF Benson, is that right?
A. That is correct, that is where it is based.
Q. How many police officers were involved in the search?
A. At that particular time half a dozen.
LORD HUTTON: Just so that it is clear, I think what you said, Mr Page, this was a police helicopter?
A. It was a police helicopter, my Lord, yes.
MR DINGEMANS: Does it have anything that assists in finding people?
A. A number of items but the principal one in use on the night was heat seeking equipment.

Page gets it wrong ... it's the Luton helicopter, not the one based at Benson!

We now know from ACC Page that it was Sergeant Morris who called out the helicopter but no detail was provided as to when Sgt Morris made his decision, nor the times of the flights, nor the exact route taken during the seach. Answers eventually came from Freedom of Information requests.  

Sgt Morris was evidently a key person that night: he had called out the helicopter, visited Mrs Kelly and overseen a reasonably thorough search of the house and grounds.  Hutton failed to call him, not only that there was no witness statement from him on the Inquiry website. 

Further thoughts about Paul Weaving

I have recently written about farmer Paul Weaving and the possibility that he saw Dr Kelly on the afternoon he went on his final walk http://drkellysdeath-timeforthetruth.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/paul-weaving-and-17th-july.html

In my post I had quoted number 41 in the schedule of responses to issues raised.  This had dealt with the report suggesting that Paul Weaving had also seen Dr Kelly on his walk on the afternoon of the 17th and the fact that Mr Weaving wasn't called to the Inquiry.  The report had been in the Guardian, Scotsman and Observer and in 41 they decided to refer to what the Guardian had to say.  This is very important because the Guardian didn't give direct quotes on this matter whereas the Scotsman certainly did.  Given the choice of those two newspapers for Saturday the 19th the question to be asked is why did they select the paper that didn't directly quote what was said.

A reminder of what Susan Melling said, as reported by the Scotsman:

Susan Melling, a neighbour, said the farmer, Mr Weaver, knocked on their door and her husband joined him in the search party.

"Mr Weaver called around and told us what had happened," she said. "He said that he had seen Dr Kelly on his walk on Thursday afternoon because he was near his farmland at the time.



"He was seen on the other side of the A420 road which runs just north of the village. My husband told me they would be searching all the way to the village of Longworth, which was the nearest village to where he was heading."  

There is confirmation of the search involving Mr Weaving and Mr Melling in number 54 in the Schedule:

Issue
Why was Susan Melling, a neighbour who had spoken to Paul Weaving, not called?
Response
Mr and Mrs Melling were also interviewed by police officers in the days following the death of Dr Kelly.  Mr Melling assisted in the search of Dr Kelly with Mr Weaving, however neither had any further information to assist the investigation.

Mrs Melling's story about the search has been confirmed.  Her remarks about Mr Weaving seeing Dr Kelly are quoted.  My belief is that Mr Weaving changed his story regarding the sighting of Dr Kelly.  Mr Weaving was interviewed by the police on Sunday 20 July so there is no realistic chance of his failing to recall the facts over that 3 day period.  He was seen by the police on the day immediately following the newspaper articles and some will see that as suspicious.

The short quotation from Mr Weaving's police witness statement is in fact ambiguous, and possibly deliberately so: Apart from the man walking his dog as previously described, I saw nobody else whilst there.  This wording might be reasonably viewed as referring to Mr Weaving's observations when he was at one location only: Harrowdown Hill.  In that case Dr Kelly might readily have been spotted by Mr Weaving earlier that afternoon just north of the A420 but south of Longworth and Harrowdown, prior to Mr Weaving going on up to the Hill to supervise the grass cutting.

In summary:

• The Attorney General in his Schedule selected the paper that didn't quote Mrs Melling rather than the one that did.
• The quotation of Mrs Melling in the Scotsman is clear and unambiguous as to Mr Weaving having seen Dr Kelly.
• Ruth Absalom has Dr Kelly heading in the wrong direction for Harrowdown Hill.  Hutton failed to investigate further.
• The official narrative doesn't record any other witnesses subsequently seeing Dr Kelly.
• Neither the person cutting the grass at Harrowdown Hill nor Mr Weaving see Dr Kelly at that location or approaching it.
• Neither Mr Weaving, Mr Melling nor Mrs Welling are called to the Inquiry, even though they knew Dr Kelly and the two men had been involved in searching for him. 

Three police deliver a missing persons form

During the evening of the 17th July two of Mrs Kelly's daughters Sian and Rachel went out looking for their father.  Sian came over with her partner Richard from their home at Fordingbridge and it seems that they searched separately from Rachel.  Their journey to Southmoor would take about one and three quarter hours. The third daughter, Ellen, lived with her husband in Scotland.

This is the continuation of Mrs Kelly's evidence to Mr Dingemans from the point when Rachel returns to the house having gone on foot to see if her father was returning on his regularly used footpath:

Q. What time was this?
A. This must have been about 6.30 perhaps by now. I am not sure of the times. I was in a terrible state myself by this time trying not to think awful things and trying to take each moment as it came.
Q. And Rachel gets back about 6.30.
A. Something like that.
Q. What does she say?
A. Then the phone rings and it is Sian, one of our other daughters. She immediately says: I am coming over. So she and her partner Richard set out by car from their home near Fordingbridge to drive the distance. They then spent the rest of the evening driving up and down lanes, looking at churches, bus shelters, and so on, looking for her father.
Q. What time did Sian and Richard arrive?
A. After 11 I believe.
Q. They had not seen Dr Kelly?
A. They had not seen him. Obviously it was very dark by then.
Q. What was decided to be done?
A. Well, we had delayed calling the police because we thought we might make matters worse if David had returned when we started to search. I felt he was already in a difficult enough situation. So we put off calling the police until about 20 to 12 at night.
Q. And who called the police?

A. I think it was Sian, I am not sure. It may have been Rachel.
Q. The police are called. Do they turn up?
A. They turn up. Three of them come with a missing persons form to fill in. I explained the situation that David had been in and it seemed immediately to go up to Chief Constable level.
Q. What time did the police arrive? The call I think you told us was about 11.
A. Yes. Within 15 minutes they were there.
Q. Three turned up?
A. Yes.

I'm not clear why Dingemans talks of the phone call being about 11, having just been told by Mrs Kelly it was at about 20 to 12.

The really surprising thing in this part of Mrs Kelly's testimony is that she states that three police turn up with a missing persons form.  One would surely be enough, two possibly but three!?  I can't claim that this is an original observation by myself ... another investigator had previously drawn attention to this oddity.  I don't know how accurate Mrs Kelly was in stating that the police arrived in 15 minutes but it's been pointed out that for this to happen it was almost as if the three police were sat in the car, missing persons form in hand, and ready for the off!

As I will explain later the evidence of police activity during the course of that night was almost entirely supplied by Mrs Kelly.  This included details about communication masts and helicopter flights.  No disrespect intended towards her but it was patently ridiculous that the Inquiry should have relied on what she said about such matters rather than the police giving evidence.  

There is plenty of reason to be suspicious of the whole Hutton process.  Of course with only Mrs Kelly giving the "technical" evidence about masts and helicopter flights for example then any further elaboration on such matters wouldn't be forthcoming.  That may have been useful from the perspective of Thames Valley Police.  However one looks at it it does demonstrate the total inadequacy of the Hutton Inquiry process.

 

Nobody saw Dr Kelly at Harrowdown Hill

We are told in the official narrative that the dead body of Dr Kelly was discovered by search dog "Brock" in the wood that surmounts Harrowdown Hill.  If Dr Kelly had decided to commit suicide as the authorities would have us believe then fairly evidently he would have walked to Harrowdown Hill and then into the wood.  A very odd website called "Southend Leaks" has come up with a different scenario though in which they maintain that Dr Kelly killed himself elsewhere and his body was then moved to the wood which would have necessitated the recreation of the suicide as it were.  There are various reasons why "Southend Leaks" doesn't ring true which I won't discuss now.

The case for Dr Kelly walking up to Harrowdown Hill and into the wood would be bolstered if there was evidence of him being sighted after he had been in conversation with Ruth Absalom.  In a comment on the last post but one from me (about Paul Weaving) Frank had pointed out that there had been no less than six witnesses that he was aware of who, during the course of the afternoon and evening of the 17th July, might have been expected to have spotted Dr Kelly ...  if not all at least some of them.  These were two farmers, an employee of one of them, a dog walker, a horse rider and a badger watcher.  None of these did.  It seems that the alleged sighting of David Kelly by Mr Weaving was before Dr Kelly met Ms Absalom.

It has been stated that there was a thorough investigation of possible witnesses to the routes that Dr Kelly would have taken.  Part of number 46 in the schedule of responses to issues raised deals with this http://www.attorneygeneral.gov.uk/Publications/Documents/Schedule%20of%20responses%20to%20issues%20raised.pdf
This is the relevant two paragraphs in the response:

In the days following the discovery of Dr Kelly's body a house-to-house operation was conducted in Southmoor, Longworth and the routes between the two villages.  This included any "premise which overlooked the possible routes taken".  In total 167 premises were identified and visited.  This was a large operation and took some weeks to complete.

A checkpoint was established on the public footpaths that cross Harrowdown Hill woods in an effort to identify potential witnesses to the movements of the deceased.

I think that there are two alternative reasons for this particular police operation: firstly, that this was a very thorough investigation and no stone was being left unturned.  The second possibility was that an element of Thames Valley Police knew that Dr Kelly hadn't walked to Harrowdown Hill and so the house-to-house operation was a piece of elaborate window dressing.

Whatever viewpoint one takes the police failed to muster a single witness to say they had seen Dr Kelly.  There is thus no evidence that he had voluntarily entered the wood where he was found.

"Gone for a walk by the river"

Mrs Kelly gave her evidence on the morning of 1st September.  This is the exchange with Mr Dingemans regarding her activity following the time that her husband set off for his walk on the afternoon of the 17th:

Q. So between 3 and 3.20 he had gone for a walk?
A. That is right, yes.
Q. And what were you doing for the rest of the day?
A. I was still feeling extremely ill so I went to sit in the sitting room. I could not settle, I put the TV on, which is unheard of for me at that time of the day. There were a few callers at the front door. I answered those and had a short chat with each of them. Then I began to get rather worried because normally if David was going for a longer walk, he would say. It was a kind of family tradition, if you were going for a longer walk you would say where you were going and what time you would be back.
Q. He had not said?

A. He had not said that. He just said: I am going for my walk.

Q. How long would a normal walk take?
A. About 15 minutes, depending if he met somebody, perhaps 20 minutes, 25 minutes.
Q. What time did you start to become concerned?
A. Probably late afternoon. Rachel rang, my daughter rang to say: do not worry, he has probably gone out to have a good think. Do not worry about it, he will be fine.  She had planned to come over that evening. She made a decision definitely to come over. She arrived -- I am not quite sure what time she arrived, half five, six o'clock, I think. She went out. She said: I will go and walk up and meet Dad. She walked up one of the normal footpaths he would have taken -- in fact it was the footpath he would have taken. She came back about half an hour or so later.
Q. What time was this?
A. This must have been about 6.30 perhaps by now. I am not sure of the times. I was in a terrible state myself by this time trying not to think awful things and trying to take each moment as it came.
Q. And Rachel gets back about 6.30.
A. Something like that.

Rachel gave her evidence on the same day and we have this (Mr Dingemans posing the questions again):

Q. On the 17th we have heard about the circumstances in which your mother contacted you.
A. Yes.
Q. I think you came and helped look for your father?
A. I did, yes. I came over -- Mum told me that Dad had gone for a walk; and we are actually quite a private family and I assumed that after all he had been through he would want to find some solitude, which I quite understood. I thought he had perhaps gone for a walk down to the river. I could quite understand that need in him. So initially I did not worry. But When he then -- I could not reach him on his mobile phone, which did make me worry because I could always reach him. I then dashed home and was talking to my sisters. Mum actually was not very well and I was torn between leaving Mum and going to look for Dad. Initially I walked down -- I just assumed he would be coming home by now and I walked down to see if he was coming. Then I went back home and then went out in the car and just searched all the local routes. I went actually down to Harrowdown first, that was my first thought, and looked at the track but I could not see him coming. I promised I would not leave the car and start walking as it was starting to -- it was quite an overcast night. 

I think that it was quite understandable for a young woman on her own to be concerned about going up the track to Harrowdown Hill on an overcast evening.  Even if she had followed the track I'm sure that she wouldn't have seen the spot where her father was discovered the following morning, unless she went into the wood.

Civil servant James Harrison was the Deputy Director for Counter Proliferation and Arms Control in the MOD.  In the late afternoon of the 17th he tried contacting Dr Kelly on his mobile phone to resolve some points about Dr Kelly's press contacts but to no avail.  He also spoke to Mrs Kelly and made a note of the conversation with her as seen at MOD/13/0032 http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090128221550/http://www.the-hutton-inquiry.org.uk/content/evidence/mod_13_0032.pdf 
Mr Knox seeks clarification about the note and the following relates to its first paragraph:

Q. We know at MoD/13/32 you appear to have made a note of your last conversation.
A. Indeed, yes.
Q. Perhaps you could just clarify one or two words.  "Rang Mrs K about 1750 or so."
I am not quite sure, the words you have inserted  then are?
A. "Having tried mobile -- rang, no answer."
Q. And then?  
A. I am afraid I am not sure what the blob is. 
Q. Then after that? 
A. "To see if back", i.e. if David was back yet. "Gone for a walk by the river. Bad headache. Had intended to go about 2 o'clock, but delayed [by phone calls?].  Sometimes goes on long route."    

Mrs Kelly hadn't said anything in her evidence about a walk by the river but she seems to be sure that is what has happened.  Rachel wonders if he had gone down to the river.  Did she impart that thought to her mother with the latter believing that is where he had gone and then Mrs Kelly telling Mr Harrison the same as a fact.  Possible perhaps but difficult to really believe.  I'm assuming that "Bad headache" refers to the fact that Mrs Kelly had a bad headache - but is this right?  Perhaps Dr Kelly had had a bad headache, we just don't know.

What we do know though is that the last quoted evidence was given by Mr Harrison on his first visit to the Inquiry, on the 27 August, less than a week before the testimony from Mrs Kelly was heard.  If Hutton was honest, competent and diligent - as we have every right to expect - then he should have asked Mrs Kelly about the supposed walk by the river.  This wasn't an isolated failing on the part of his Lordship, again and again and again he failed in his duty to adequately investigate matters.

Paul Weaving and the 17th July

The official narrative leads us to believe that the only person to see Dr Kelly after he left his home during the mid afternoon of 17th July was neighbour Ruth Absalom.  Yet the Guardian and the Scotsman editions of 19th July and the Observer on the following day state that he was also seen by Paul Weaver, a farmer.  It is now generally agreed that the name given was incorrect and that the person concerned was Paul Weaving, a friend of the Kellys.  "Weaver" is a much more common surname than "Weaving" which might be a reason why the reporters got it wrong, however the fact that all three stories used the name Weaver suggests the possibility that the story originated from the same single source.

This is how each paper recorded the story as part of longer pieces:

Guardian (Steven Morris and Hugh Muir)

Paul Weaver, a farmer, may have been the last person to see him, as the scientist walked through farmland to the north of the A420, a few minutes from his home. Dr Kelly seemed happy enough and smiled at the farmer.

Dr Kelly's family was surprised when he did not return within a few hours. Though he often walked for two or three hours, he was not wont to go for long hikes alone. He had left home in just a cotton shirt and jeans. It was not cold but it was dull and rainy.

During the late afternoon and early evening Mrs Kelly began asking around the village. Mr Weaver heard that Dr Kelly had vanished and phoned a councillor, John Melling, to tell him where he had seen Dr Kelly. The pair began searching the fields, footpaths and lanes between Southmoor and the village of Longworth. They found no trace of their friend. 

The Scotsman (Karen McVeigh and Paul Gallagher)
Paul Weaver, a farmer, was possibly the last person to see the scientist alive, as he made his way alone along a country footpath at the edge of his farm. It was shortly after 3pm when the sighting was made.  
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His wife, who is understood to be suffering from arthritis, waited a few more anxious hours before she called the police at about 11:45pm, and a search involving dozens of police officers and neighbours was launched.

Susan Melling, a neighbour, said the farmer, Mr Weaver, knocked on their door and her husband joined him in the search party.

"Mr Weaver called around and told us what had happened," she said. "He said that he had seen Dr Kelly on his walk on Thursday afternoon because he was near his farmland at the time.

"He was seen on the other side of the A420 road which runs just north of the village. My husband told me they would be searching all the way to the village of Longworth, which was the nearest village to where he was heading."  

The Observer

Paul Weaver, a local farmer, did see him, however. He greeted Kelly as he strode through the fields north of the A420 close to his home, but there was nothing to indicate he was troubled. 'He smiled and said hello,' Weaver recalled.  

This is number 41 in the schedule of responses to issues raised on the Attorney General's website http://www.attorneygeneral.gov.uk/Publications/Documents/Schedule%20of%20responses%20to%20issues%20raised.pdf

Issue

It was reported that a Mr Paul Weaving may have been the last person to see Dr Kelly alive.  Despite this he was not called to give evidence. 

Response

This appears to be based on a story in The Guardian published the day after the body was discovered, "Paul Weaver (sic), a farmer, may have been the last person to see him ... Dr Kelly seemed happy enough and smiled at the farmer."  The article does not source this quote but gives the impression it is Mr Weaving himself.

Mr Weaving was interviewed by police on the 20th July 2003.  He had known Dr Kelly for 20 years and did not see him that day.  He had been supervising grass cutting on Harrowdown Hill and describes one man he saw who was walking a dog.  Police Statement - "I left the Longworth area at around 7pm and returned home.  Apart from the man walking his dog as previously described, I saw nobody else whilst there."

I have been told that the grass being cut was the field to the east of the wood on Harrowdown Hill, in fact the field where the white tent was erected and various vehicles ultimately parked as seen on much of the video footage.  It's very interesting that Dr Kelly managed to walk up to the wood without Mr Weaving spotting him.

The Scotsman quoted Susan Melling directly, this makes it difficult to believe that Mr Weaving didn't see Dr Kelly earlier.  However  Norman Baker in his book records that Rowena Thursby was informed in an email from Mr Weaving: "the early reports were wrong. I did not see David on the day he went missing".(Rowena wrote one of the first blogs about the death of Dr Kelly).

It looks then as if the press got their story wrong about Mr Weaving seeing Dr Kelly on the 17th.  The alternative as I see it is that Mr Weaving was leaned on; this would be very worrying.

Looking at the evidence tab on the Hutton website and clicking on the Thames Valley Police link it can be seen that there is no witness statement from Mr Weaving.  There is this though: "Minute to Paul Wearing 19/07/03 - not for release - Police operational information.  TVP/3/0098 -0099".  Some folk think that "Wearing" here should be "Weaving".  I beg to differ, I can't imagine a minute being sent to Paul Weaving whatever "minute" might mean in this context. 

Even if Mr Weaving hadn't seen Dr Kelly that day I would have thought that the fact he was supervising grass cutting at Harrowdown Hill would have been good reason to have his written statement at the Inquiry.  However it musn't be forgotten that witnesses could demand that their statements didn't go forward to the Inquiry and perhaps Mr Weaving used this option.

It's known that some witnesses did withold their statements and this makes an absolute mockery of Hutton saying he had no problems with compellability.  I can't imagine that with an inquest a witness could be given such an escape route.   

 

Odd interrogation of Ruth Absalom

Still on the subject of Ruth Absalom there is an interesting story that Norman Baker relates in his book (P206-207) which, at a minimum, is quite odd. 

Norman talks of a local reporter, Robert Wilkinson, who was interviewing folk in Southmoor following the death.  The Wagon and Horses is the pub opposite the Kelly home and Mr Wilkinson noticed a conspicuous parked car there with its two occupants talking to local residents ... one of whom was Ruth Absalom. Mr Wilkinson spoke to Ms Absalom to establish the identity of the two men but she wouldn't say as the two men had been most insistent that she should reveal nothing if asked.

The reporter tapped on the car window and asked the two men who they worked for.  Apparently they just laughed with one replying 'Thames Valley Police'.  They weren't in uniform and Mr Wilkinson felt that they weren't from Special Branch.

Later that day he phoned the police to ask if any officers had been out interviewing neighbours.  The answer he got was in the negative.  He explained the events that had led him to pose the question.  Two days later he got an unexpected call from TVP explaining that they had made a mistake and that the occupants of the car as well as the car itself were from the constabulary.

Mr Baker poses the possibility that these men were in reality from the intelligence services.  The fact that Mr Wilkinson was contacted out of the blue two days later does seem strange.  Frustratingly the piece in the book doesn't tell us the actual date that the two men were speaking to Ms Absalom.

Ruth Absalom speaking to the Press

This report from "The People" of Sunday 20 July 2003 includes comments by Ruth Absalom:


TRAGIC Dr David Kelly killed himself by slashing his wrist after swallowing powerful painkillers, it was revealed yesterday.

Police found a knife and tablets at the spot where the brilliant defence scientist named as the Iraq weapons mole died.

They refused to say whether he left a suicide note.

As forensic experts in white boiler suits searched Dr Kelly's pounds 750,000 house and gardens for clues, a friend told how the quietly spoken father of three reassured her, "Everything will be fine, it will all work out" just before he vanished.

Dr Kelly, 59, bumped into widow Ruth Absalom - probably the last person to see him alive - about a mile from his house in the village of Southmoor, Oxon, last Thursday.

Ruth, who is in her 70s, said: "He seemed jolly and was smiling. He didn't seem to have a care in the world.

"We talked about the weather and about my dog Buster. It was just pleasantries and small talk. I said, 'I hope you sort out your problems' and he replied, 'Everything will be fine'."

Dr Kelly, a member of the Baha'i Church, a liberal off-shoot of Islam, then continued his tragic walk to wooded Harrowdown Hill, the beauty spot where his body was found on Friday after a huge police search.

Acting superintendent David Purnell confirmed that Dr Kelly died through bleeding from a wound to his left wrist.

"We have recovered a knife and an open packet of Coproxamol tablets," the officer added.

Earlier, Dr Kelly's 58-year-old wife Janice and a woman believed to be daughter Sian, 32, were driven by police in a people carrier with darkened windows to the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, to formally identify his body.

Mrs Kelly was too distraught to comment when she returned home two hours later.

But the family issued a statement revealing that the pressure had become "intolerable" for Dr Kelly after his ferocious grilling by MPs over the Iraq war dossier. The unassuming civil servant had been identified as the possible source of BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan's story which said the dossier had been "sexed up" by Tony Blair's close aide Alastair Campbell.

The family's statement, read out by Mr Purnell, said: "Events over recent weeks made David's life intolerable and all of those involved should reflect long and hard on this fact."

In a moving tribute to widely respected Dr Kelly, they said: "We are utterly devastated and heartbroken by the death of our husband, father and brother. We loved him very much and will miss his warmth, humour, and humanity.

"Those who knew him will remember him for his devotion to his home, family and the community and countryside in which he lived. A loving, private and dignified man taken from us all."

The statement also praised Dr Kelly for the "integrity, honour and dedication to finding the truth" that marked his professional life.

"It is hard to comprehend the enormity of this tragedy," the family added.

Flowers and messages of condolence arrived at the house where police had removed the computer and files from the study where Dr Kelly researched Saddam Hussein's chemical and biological weapons programme.

The Kellys had lived in the village for more than 20 years and were well respected by locals. Dr Kelly loved playing cribbage in the pub.

David Jordan, vice chairman of the local historical society, said: "This is like a dark cloud hanging over the village and everyone is in shock.

"David enjoyed walking but because Jan has a hip problem, she could no longer go with him.

"Jan is such a friendly lady and very outgoing - he was the introvert.

"You would knock on the door and David would answer then disappear into his study to carry on his work.

Mr Jordan said the couple's daughter Rachel is due to marry in October.

Roger Kingdon, 41, secretary of the Baha'i Church in nearby Abingdon, said: "David was a deeply spiritual man and took his faith seriously."

phil.nettleton@people.co.uk




And this from the Daily Mirror the next day:

PENSIONER Ruth Absalom was the last person to see Dr Kelly alive when she bumped into him on his final stroll before his death.

Ruth, 75, was walking her dog Buster when she met her friend in fields not far from his Oxfordshire home.

She said: "We had been chatting for a few minutes, but he wanted to get on.

"He looked at his watch, and I said: 'Yes, I should get going. I'll see you again David'.

"He replied: 'Oh, I expect so Ruth, you know'."

Little did Ruth know that Dr Kelly was about to end his life in the next field.

Last night Dr Kelly's daughter, Ellen Wilson, suggested that he might have killed himself because he had been barred from going back to Iraq this week as a weapons inspector.

The scientist's friend, author Tom Mangold, said: "That would have destroyed him."

Dr Kelly was also devastated that colleagues at the Ministry of Defence had treated him like "a dissident".

One source said: "Dr Kelly was the most prominent British inspector in Iraq during the 1990s and then he found himself being hung out to dry."

Ellen, 30, said: "He felt there was a total lack of support."

A family friend said: "David's death is down to the Government. The politicians running the country are rotten to the core."

An inquest is due to open in Oxford today. Caption: SCENE: Field where Dr Kelly died 

It's much too complex for me to comment in this post on the rest of the copy in these two press stories.  However I thought it right to fully quote the reports to give context for the quoted remarks by Ms Absalom; it's also interesting to see how contemporary reports were dealing with the death of Dr David Kelly.