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   From: oO@oO.com   
      
   MP to investigate Dr Kelly's death   
      
   Hélène Mulholland / London Guardian | May 20 2006   
      
   A backbench MP is to investigate the "unanswered questions" from the   
   official inquiry into the death of weapons scientist Dr David Kelly.   
      
   The former Liberal Democrat environmental spokesman Norman Baker today   
   revealed his decision to stand down from the shadow cabinet two months ago   
   was based on a quest to establish the "truth" behind Dr Kelly's death.   
      
   Mr Baker said he wanted to return to the issue because the 2003 Hutton   
   inquiry had "blatantly failed to get to the bottom of matters".   
      
   He vowed to question ministers and to unearth new facts in a bid to   
   establish the "truth" of the case.   
   Dr Kelly was found dead on July 18 2003 after being named as the possible   
   source of a BBC story on the government's Iraq dossier.   
      
   Later that month Lord Hutton was appointed head of an independent inquiry   
   into the events surrounding Dr Kelly's death. After a two-month inquiry,   
   Lord Hutton concluded the scientist had taken his own life.   
      
   Oxford coroner Nicholas Gardiner subsequently looked into the possibility of   
   reopening the inquest into Dr Kelly's death, but after reviewing the   
   evidence with the lord chancellor, decided that there was no case for doing   
   so.   
      
   Mr Baker explained that he had decided to wait until he relinquished his   
   environmental role before embarking on an investigation to find out the   
   "truth" that the Hutton inquiry had failed to deliver.   
      
   "It did not answer questions," he told Guardian Unlimited today.   
      
   "It was not carried out using proper rules of evidence, people were not   
   giving evidence under oath and the whole thing became a criticism of the   
   BBC."   
      
   Mr Baker said he had given himself a year to carry out his inquiries. This   
   will include revising the medical evidence, interviews with experts and   
   looking at issues relating to the government's "behaviour" in the affair, as   
   well as the weapons of mass destruction claims made in the months preceding   
   Dr Kelly's death.   
      
   Mr Baker admitted he already holds a "number of theories" about the   
   scientist's death, but declined to speculate so early into his   
   investigation, which began two months ago just after he stood down from his   
   shadow post.   
      
   Mr Baker, who is known for his forensic use of parliamentary questions,   
   insisted his decision to stand down after six years as environment spokesman   
   was his choice alone.   
      
   "I have long been unhappy about the sequence of events and I was unhappy at   
   the time about the way the Hutton inquiry was conducted and I wanted to free   
   up some time to look into this," he said.   
      
   "I haven't informed the party leadership yet," he added. Asked if Dr Kelly's   
   widow, Janice, was aware of his plans, Mr Baker said: "I recognise the   
   sensitivity of the matter for the family and the need to speak with them,   
   but only if they prepared to do so."   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)