In practice it also includes the analysis of non-toxic substances as well as naturally occurring substances in the body.
There are many aspects of the drug and toxicology results that puzzle me.
The toxicology work was given to Forensic Alliance Ltd (FAL). This was a forensic science company based at Culham, Abingdon, Oxfordshire. In 2005 the company was taken over by LGC Limited.
Here, I am curious about the FAL's 'minor' results from David Kelly's body fluids.
A small team of scientists would have carried out the analyses. They would have cross-checked each other's results to eliminate any one scientist's errors.
Finally, a stringent check of all the results would be made by the Company's Quality Control procedures.
Thus - any results from FAL should be guaranteed to be free of errors. People's lives and freedom depended on the accuracy of their work.
One of their employees, Dr Allan, reported the company's results to the Coroner and the Hutton Inquiry.
Toxicology results review
In 2010, in response to a major legal challenge, the Attorney General had parts of the Hutton Inquiry's evidence reviewed.
The reviewer of FAL's toxicology results was Professor Robert J Flanagan, 53, an expert in drug analysis. He was a Consultant Clinical Scientist at King's College Hospital, London. He held honorary Professorships at Loughborough and London.
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| A Mass Spectrometer - magnetic sector type |
The obvious general-purpose analytical instrument that FAL would have used was a device called a Mass Spectrometer.
This can measure a vast range of substances in samples of body fluid/tissue. The output from the device - a mass spectrum - can be fairly confusing at first glance. It shows 'peaks' of all sorts all over the place. But each peak or peaks is like a fingerprint for a substance.
Caffeine
Most people have some caffeine in their body. Simply from drinking coffee, tea, cola drinks, energy drinks, chocolate and some medicines.
It is almost a normal and common finding in body fluids.
David Kelly had a cup of coffee, at home, at 11am on Thursday 17th July with his wife Jan. A little later, at about 1pm, he had a lunch of sandwiches and a glass of water.
We don't know the amount or type of coffee he drank. We don't know how much caffeine he drank. We don't know if it was decaffeinated.
The body breaks down caffeine. David Kelly is alleged to have died about ten hours later. By then the amount of caffeine in his blood would have fallen to about a quarter of the peak value. In the analysis of David Kelly's blood etc, caffeine would have been seen along with many other common substances. It was unlikely to be a significant feature of the analysis spectrum at this time.
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| Mass Spectrum of pure Caffeine. The spike ‘194’ on the right is the pure Caffeine. The other spikes are characteristic fragments of the Caffeine molecule produced by the Mass Spectrometer. This is the ‘finger print’ of Caffeine – or its ‘fragmentation pattern’ |
Sadly, no measurements of the actual blood levels, e.g. mg per litre, of caffeine were made or reported. This would have been very easy and very useful.
Mentions of caffeine
Given that David Kelly's levels of caffeine should have been low, it is surprising how often they are mentioned.
Dr Allan referred to caffeine three times.
Dr Flanagan referred to caffeine twice.
Thus caffeine was mentioned five times, yet it shouldn't have drawn any comments at all.
Unless - that is - the levels of caffeine were high or unusually high?
They could only be notably high if David Kelly had been drinking caffeine drinks later in the day. But there isn't a Starbucks on Harrowdown Hill.
Were his caffeine levels higher than expected? If they were, where and when had David Kelly been drinking coffee or something similar?
Acetone
Acetone is a solvent most often met in nail varnish. It vaporises easily and has a very distinctive smell.
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| A lack of food |
The body 'burns' glucose as its source of energy. Glucose is stored in the body - in the liver and muscles. It is actually stored as a carbohydrate called glycogen.
The glycogen store is seldom enough to last 24 hours. First thing in the morning it will be very low or zero. It is topped-up during the day by eating carbohydrates.
The glycogen stores are often used up. Then the body switches over to burning fat. This is not very efficient and “ketone bodies” are made as a by-product.
Acetone is the main ketone body.
The breath of someone whose body is running on fat may well smell of acetone. From the smell of acetone on their breath they may be described as 'ketotic'.
David Kelly had a lunch of sandwiches. This was at about 1pm. Just how much food he ate we don't know.
However, acetone was found in his body fluids. This suggests that he had used up all of his carbohydrate store - lunch as well - and was now having to burn fat.
It is alleged that he died around 8.45pm - some eight hours after his lunch.
I am surprised that he had switched over to burning fat by then. I would have thought that his carbohydrate stores were unlikely to have been consumed before 8.45 pm.
Mentions of acetone
David Kelly's body levels of acetone should have been minimal.
But it is surprising how often they are mentioned.
Dr Allan referred to acetone three times.
Dr Flanagan referred to acetone once.
Thus acetone was mentioned four times, yet it shouldn't have drawn any comments at all.
Unless - that is - the levels of acetone were high or unusually high?
How could David Kelly's acetone levels be raised?
The obvious explanation is that he was alive and well late on the evening of Thursday 17th - and probably very hungry.
Once again, no measurements of acetone were reported.
Questions
Was David Kelly alive and hungry late on the evening of Thursday 17th July?
Was he also drinking coffee at the same time?
If so - where was he?
Do you know where David Kelly was on the evening of 17th July?
Please let me know of any facts that you know concerning David Kelly’s death. Send them to me via the Signal App
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