The grave of David Kelly, the Iraq WMD inspector, has been dug up and the body removed by his family after a placard was placed by it and threats to exhume his remains were made.
Police confirmed his remains have been moved from a churchyard near his home and the headstone taken down, according to a report from UK newspaper The Sun.
A source told the paper: “It was removed in secret. One day his headstone was there. The next it was gone and the plot had been dug up and then covered in fresh turf.”
It is believed the action was taken after the grave was “desecrated” by conspiracy theorists and campaigners who believe the scientist did not commit suicide.
The body was moved elsewhere and is understood to have been cremated.
Kelly died in 2003 aged 53 after he was exposed as the source of a BBC report that an official dossier on Saddam Hussein and Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction had been “sexed up”.
Although his death led to the Hutton inquiry which found he had committed suicide, an inquest has never been held.
British newspaper The Sunday Times reports that the Justice for Kelly group placed a placard next to Kelly’s grave which called for an inquest to be held. They had left notes on the grave and held vigils in the past.
Gerrard Jonas, of Justice for Kelly, told the paper: “Dr Kelly’s body was . . . removed in the last week of July, headstone and all. They dug it up overnight. It was all done in haste. What looked like pieces of the coffin were left behind, he said. Jonas, who lives nearby, continued: “We have been at this for 4½ years. We did put placards, one placard, asking for a coroner’s inquest. There has been no desecration. About three years ago Mrs Kelly sent the police round to me one Saturday night. They started questioning me.”
Kelly was found dead near after swallowing tablets and self-harming. Some have questioned whether the cuts could have caused enough blood loss to be fatal.
However, the pathologist’s report said there was a lot of blood, the wounds were “typical of self-inflicted injury” and there was no evidence of foul play.
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
What drives subscription retailing?
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The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
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Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
