A REDDITCH woman is to join fellow campaigners and descend on London to demand the re-opening of an inquest into the death of Dr David Kelly, 10 years after he died.

Dr Kelly, a top weapons expert in British intelligence, was found dead near his home in 2003, days after telling the media that the government deceived the public about weapons of mass distruction (WMD) to justify the war on Iraq.

A coroner opened an inquest to investigate his death but the inquest was cancelled when the government asked Lord Hutton, a retired Law Lord, to conduct a special inquiry instead. The inquiry stated that Dr Kelly committed suicide.

A group of doctors leading an investigation into his death have also called for a new inquest, saying there had been ''deficiencies in legal processes'' which meant Dr Kelly's inquest had never been formally closed, no final death certificate had been issued and no cause of death confirmed by a coroner.

Redditch woman Margaret Hindle is preparing to don a gag for the silent protest, to mark a decade since  Dr Kelly’s death.

Campaigners in the ‘Gagging The Truth’ protest will stand in silence, outside London’s Royal Courts of Justice, from 2-4pm on Thursday, July 18 - the date when Dr Kelly’s body was found. 

She said: “If Dr Kelly’s death is the only single unexplained death since the 14th century not to receive a proper coronial inquest, we ask, why?  For him, no jury, no oath, no subpoena nor cross-examination of witnesses, and no requirement to prove suicide beyond all reasonable doubt. Yet he was a world-renowned WMD inspector who visited Iraq nearly 40 times.”

Organisers of the protest say Freedom of Information requests have revealed evidence which have heightened concerns and brought the suicide verdict into question.

For more information, contact chickwah@blueyonder.co.uk or 07718 542177 or search for ‘David Kelly - Gagging The Truth’ on Facebook.