Police could not find any fingerprints on Dr Kelly's 'suicide' knife

The Hutton Inquiry into the death of the Ministry of Defence weapons expert ruled that he slashed one of his wrists with a blunt garden knife and took an overdose of pills.

But the campaigning Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker has carried out his own investigation after forensic experts questioned the official version of events.

The Lewes MP made the discovery after submitting a Freedom of Information request to the force.

The lack of fingerprints is especially strange as police records also revealed the germ warfare expert was not wearing any gloves when he died – nor were any found at the scene of his death.

Mr Baker said: 'It is one of the things that makes me think Dr Kelly was murdered.

'The angle you pick up a knife to kill yourself – there would be fingerprints. Someone who wanted to kill himself wouldn't go to the lengths of wiping the knife clean of fingerprints.

'And wearing gloves would seem very odd when you are about to cut your own wrists. It is very strange.'

It completely severed a tiny blood vessel called the ulnar artery, which is deep in the wrist and protected by nerves and tendons.

It is highly unlikely anyone without a blood-clotting defect would bleed to death from a single cut to this artery.

It would have required unusual force to cut through the tendons, particularly with a blunt gardening knife, and it would have been very painful.

To ascertain just how unusual the injury was, Mr Baker asked the Office of National Statistics how many people in the UK died in 2003 from a cut to the ulnar artery.

He was told that Dr Kelly was the only one. The scientist was found dead in woodland near his home in Southmoor, Oxfordshire, in July 2003 after becoming trapped at the centre of a vicious war of words between the Government and the BBC.

His death came days after he was unmasked as the source of a Today programme report alleging Labour had 'sexed up' a dossier outlining the case for war in Iraq.

The document had famously claimed that Saddam Hussein could launch a nuclear or biological weapons strike on Britain within 45 minutes.

Dr Kelly, a father of three, was grilled on TV by MPs on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.

His widow, Janice, claimed her husband had been put under 'intolerable pressure'.

But Lord Hutton exonerated the Government and ruled that Dr Kelly's death was a suicide – leading to accusations that the inquiry had been a whitewash.

Independent doctors have pointed to discrepancies in the post-mortem examination results.

They say neither the cut to Dr Kelly's wrist nor the drugs he took were enough to kill him.

Friends and relatives said the doctor had shown no suicidal tendencies, and had been looking forward to his daughter's wedding.

However, Mrs Kelly remains convinced that her husband killed himself and refused to comment on the latest development.

A Thames Valley Police spokesman said: 'It has been confirmed that there were no fingerprints on the knife whatsoever. This however does not change the official explanation of his death.'

62 people have commented on this story so far. Tell us what you think below.

Dirty government tricks here?

- Ruth, Poole, UK

"My government would never do anything that wicked."
On a scale of one-to-10, how much do you agree?

- Andrew Milner, Karuizawa, Japan

The Governments and media will stop at nothing to cover up all there crimes.

- Martin, Victoria B.C. Canada

Ask Blair and his bunch of garbage spewing cronies what happened.

- Fred, UK

This revelation calls into question the cause of Doctor Kelly's death. The whole case should be re-opened. An independent group of experts should be commissioned to examine all aspects of the situations leading up to his death.

- Edward Thompson Higton [Enlish By Birth], Jomtien, Thailand

Of course he was killed. The question is who gained most by his death.

- Dino Fancellu, Epsom

The Hutton inquiry would rank alongside the 911 commission as one of history's great whitewashes. So pathetic it would be comical if the stakes weren't so high.

- Paul, Australia

He was murdered this government have known this for years!

- Trish Brennan, Harrogate

If 'they' want you out of the way, 'they' can do, or arrange it. There are organizations out there that are empowered by the government to do their bidding. It is a shame that 'they' do not get rid of those that preach hatred to another.

- Victor Arram, Westcliff on sea

Dr Kelly had firm religious views and had the capability to run Porton Down earlier in his career. Why would he kill himself? Though, if he thought he would be "found dead in the woods" - a quote in the papers at the time, why did he go for a walk alone? This could be like the Diana case - some people remain suspicious for good reason, but the outcome will never be known to be the truth by everyone.

- Peter, London

One day Blair will face a jury of his peers for his complicity in the murder of Dr. Kelly. That should wipe the smug cheesy grin off his face.

- Alan, Ex -Pat

The Hutton Report is risible. Of course Kelly was murdered. Proving it is another matter.

- Peter Hargreaves, Stockport, Cheshire

I have always maintained that the poor man was a scapegoat and there was no way this was suicide - the fact there were no fingerprints is further proof - get CSI Grisom on the case and the real perpetrators will be named and shamed -but I don't think people on high will ever allow the REAL truth to come out.

- Sally Stranks, Cardiff

I do hope they dig deeper, it was so suspicious at the time, I remember the look on Blairs face when they told him about the death, question time for him?

- Clare, France

I can remember my first reaction to the announcement that Dr Kelly had been found dead in a public place - the apparent cause - suicide... OMG they've got him.

A first instinctive view which I speculate was, and still is, shared my many.

- Ann, Saltdean, UK

I have never thought he killed himself...

- Sue W, Leicestershire

It is time for the Hutton charade to be set aside. The real criminals need to be brought to book.

- Admad, West Sussex

I've always thought his death merited further investigation. He hated taking tablets yet stuffed himself full of Co Proxamol? Now this? Something very strange here...

- Tracey, Paisley, Scotland

Perhaps 007's licence to kill isn't something Ian Fleming invented after all.

How funny that the lack of fingerprints didn't come to light at the time.

- Mike, Ipswich

Certainly I didn't believe for a moment that Dr Kelly killed himself and believe me, we paid very close attention to the Hutton Inquiry (a whitewash if ever there were one; much like 9-11). Dr Kelly had no reason to kill himself. Since when did speaking the truth lead one to suicide? I hope an investigation is commenced, this time bringing together independent experts especially in the medical field.

- Angie, Canada

It's about time the truth was told. My husband and I have always had our suspicions, since first hearing the news that he had died.

- Yvonne, Hants

I hope he is haunting Mr Blair on a nightly basis.

- Stuart, Manchester, England

If there is one case that the Labour party wants to remain buried it's this one - it's a big can of worms. No way will the police lift a finger to investigate further- they know what's good for them.

- Doug, Glasgow

This case was always suspicious, it is impossible to die from cutting the ulna artery. Sounds like another Diana cover-up.

- Mary, Totnes

Norman Baker deserves our praise and thanks for his work here. The truth will eventually come out.

- Mike, Dunstable England

I never believed any of the cover up anyway.

- Jacqui Weems, Southampton

I would love to see a proper enquiry. The whole Kelly affair reveals the government to have been up to any manner of dirty tricks and it's time someone had to answer for them and Dr Kelly's life.

- Graham, St Albans, Herts

Another enquiry is necessary- not that we will ever find out the real truth.

- Pat, Dorset. UK

Now that Diana is finally getting the legally required inquest, it is even more telling that Dr Kelly has not had an inquest and there is no sign that the powers that be are ever going to allow one.

- Ken Hall, Barrow in Furness, UK

All decent folk knew at the time of Dr Kelly's death that "dark forces" were against him. From that time I know I have been saying that Dr Kelly's family have been victims of political machinations. Time that the real truth was told, so an INDEPENDENT inquiry, free from political involvement should be right thing to do.

- David Powell, Bridport, UK

The paramedics reported very little blood at the scene, exactly what you would expect from a cut ulna artery which would have gone into spasm.....(why do people sit in hot baths and cut their wrists? To try and reduce the spasm and bleed more). He didn't bleed to death from the blood found at the scene. There was one report at the time that he had some stick on ECG electrodes under his shirt when he was found. Where did he get them and why? I think he was murdered.

- John Barber, Oxford UK

Let us pray the old adage is true: ‘The truth will out’.

- Lorraine, Worthing UK

The uncomfortable truth is that our government is no different from others through history and will do very bad things if they think they can get away with it and they have been getting away with it because the general public has a psychological barrier to break through in order to accept that their leaders can behave so appallingly. Many of the people who do know what the system is capable of will try and convince themselves that it must be for the greater good.

Even when the evidence of government involvement is overwhelming (9/11 has been mentioned) many people still cannot conquer their fear and prefer to live exiled from the truth.

Unfortunately most MPs have been neutered but the other comments here give me hope that together we can expose the criminals in high places.

- Stewart Cowan, Stranraer, Wigtownshire, UK

Dr Kelly was a practicing Christian, and I know that it's against the teachings of Christianity to commit sucide.

- Mohammed, London, UK

I always believed he was murdered and that many high up in our Government (possibly to the top) either were complicit or involved in it. No, this is not another conspiracy nut - but someone perfectly capable of reading all the evidence and deciding it doesn't add up (that others were there before, during and after the event).

- Andrea, Buckingham

Don't kid yourselves, the truth will not emerge in my lifetime! Nu Labour is 'cover up, cover up, cover up'.

- John, East Sussex, UK

Well done Norman Baker for refusing to let this horrendous cover-up go unchallenged. It seems that you are a man of courage and integrity and I sincerely hope that you discover the truth about this awful affair and that the perpetrators are brought to justice.

- Harry Ingman, Bournemouth

Right from the start I had no doubt whatsoever that Dr Kelly was murdered. Nothing else fits the facts. Everything, from the Hutton Enquiry onwards, smacked of a huge coverup and dirty deeds - but everyone was running scared of the secretive Labour machine at the time. Many prisoners were taken - and not a word said.

- Rosemary, England

Of course Dr Kelly's fingerprints wouldn't be on the knife - he didn't kill himself.

And whoever did kill him wouldn't be stupid enough to leave their fingerprints.

So it makes perfect sense that there wouldn't be any fingerprints on the knife.

- Jane, London

More inquiries would be a waste of time. The fact is that the west is controlled by unseen hands (commonly referred to as the 'Elite' or 'shadow government') who use war and terror in order to implement their policies of global domination over the Earth's resources. Anyone that gets in their way, no matter who they are, can expect the same fate.

It is a ridiculous notion to believe that we in the west live in a just and democratic society. It does not take much time or effort to reveal the truth of that statement but people just resist because the consequences of contemplating that fact are simply too horrendous for most.

George Orwell had it spot on when he said "Ignorance is strength" when referring to the totalitarian government in '1984'.

There is much we can learn about our society and those that run it if we do some basic research. Don't expect those that spoon-feed you their version of events to help you on this one

- Mark Page, London

A select band of people know the truth of this affair. Isn't it strange, that instead of being sacked, the person responsible for producing the "dodgy dossier" was given a knighthood and promoted to head of MI6?

- Peter C., Copthorne, UK

About time this was re-opened. Many people living in the area Dr Kelly came from refuse to accept the verdict of suicide, and it's time the truth came out. Like everything the government does nowdays there are cover ups, bribes and corruption! Just so they can get their own way, and line their own pockets.

- Diane Baker, Devon, UK

Surely nobody still believes that David Kelly committed suicide, do they? The official finding as to the cause of death is more full of holes than a Gruyere cheese. In my book, he was murdered by person or persons unknown. He knew too much.

- Nicholas Lee, Windsor, UK

There should be a full police enquiry.

- John, Surrey

I have not forgotten the feeling of fear I experienced for this poor man when he was ruthlessly "outed" by Alistair Campbell. The subsequent traducing of his good name defies belief, as does the removal of the BBC's top men which followed. I think that a lot of us expected something awful would happen to dear, honourable Dr Kelly for speaking the truth against this sorry government's sexed-up and plagiarised document calling us to war. May God forgive those responsible for this wickedness, for we cannot.

- Plum, Wirral, England

The knife and pills were taken from his own home. His wife remains convinced it was suicide. How did the assassins get the props? Were there any signs of a break-in at the Kelly's house?

- Gregory Towers, Lincoln, UK

If there was a cover up, and it is not at all unlikely, a further enquiry will produce nothing new. If they managed to cover it up then they can do so again at great cost to the taxpayer.
To the best of my knowledge and belief no public enquiry has ever produced a worthwhile result.

- George Herbert, Bournemouth, England

So, he killed himself and then wiped his fingerprints off?

- Kay Oliver, Hemel Hempstead Herts

I have always believed that Dr. Kelly was murdered and the subsequent enquiry by the bumbling Lord Hutton, and the speed of its delivery only confirmed my view.
Now that Blair is not around perhaps we can have a proper enquiry into this poor man's murder.

- Geoff Fuller, Seaton, Devon

If this report is true and accurate, it confirms beyond any possible doubt (and I for one always had suspicions) that Dr Kelly's "suicide" requires microscopic scrutiny. Betrayed by the politicians and establishment, he and his family, and the British people deserve accurate and honest answers. Under Labour I think that highly unlikely.

- Sarahjane, Leatherhead, Surrey

Farcical! just what we expect from this government. Reminds me of the "X-files" on TV. The truth is out there....

- Den, Sittingbourne

I really hope that for his family's sake the truth comes out. I never ever thought Dr Kelly killed himself.

- Kenherts, Hertford, UK

...and the government people incharge of the Dr Kelly inquiry are now involved with the Diana inquiry.

- Jon Oakton, Worcester , England.

Another enquiry is not required, we'll never truly know the answer. I don't believe he killed himself, but the people who did kill him would never be found, could never be identified or even traced. If they went to the lengths of setting up a grand scheme to make it look like a suicide and then the post mortem was either rigged or the records amended, do you really think these people are just going to put their hands up and say admit to it? No, any fresh enquiry would be a waste of time and money.

- Chris Carr, Southampton

Don't bother with a public enquiry, it will only be an expensive whitewash at the expense of the taxpayer.

- Kathleen, Wakefield, England

I would welcome a new enquiry - it is about time those accountable for Dr David Kelly's death were bought to account and Dr David Kelly to rest in peace.

- Nicola Brown, Devon England

The "hand" on the knife has silenced the police - what power! We are now living in a police state - make no mistake.

- Liz, Bromley, UK

Given the undisputed incompetence level of our security services in the last 20 years, this sounds like par for the course. Lots of issues unravelling around them. Whom would you believe these days? The problem is that they drag things out for so long that the miscreants are themselves dead from old age when we finally discover they should have spent at least 20 years in a prison cell! Wonderful accountable democracy we have. No wonder third world nations laugh at us and our posturing.

- Tom, Bedfordshire

At last we might get at the truth. A man who had just slashed his wrist would not be in a position to wipe the knife clean, or to dispose of the cloth.
We all know there are 'dark forces' at work. I have never believed this man would have taken his own life, no matter what pressure he was under.

It seems that people who are a nuisance can just be done away with. Diana, as well, perhaps?

- Audrey Atkinson, Eastbourne, UK

Any doctor would know that if you want to kill yourself, you don't take painkillers and cut your wrists as the painkillers slows the blood flow, so it doesn't work.

- Emma, Dorset

If people want to see a conspiracy they will see one one what ever the evidence, the widow believes he committed suicide and she knew him better than any one else. Only those with axes to grind will see a conspiracy. Sometimes things just are plain, odd.

- Jess, Nottingham, UK

I am very disturbed by this report. One way or another it discredits totally the Hutton enquiry which must now be considered utter rubbish as many suspected. I will be interested to see how Gordon Brown (the great leader who never was) deals with this...

- Steve, Birmingham