- Helicopter Team – who did two searches
- Ground humans, two + dog
- TVP team – deployed only after David KELLY’S body had been found.
Team 3 was put into the field about an hour after David Kelly’s body was found.
In this Chapter I will describe how the search for David Kelly happened.
A Report
Sian Kelly reported David Kelly as overdue at 23:45. This despite the fact that he should have been home from a short walk by 16:00 at the latest, according to Jan & Rachael Kelly. Three officers from TVP’s Abingdon Station appeared promptly at midnight.
Sergeant Simon Morris led this group. He requested that TVP’s helicopter be sent up to search the immediate locality. They would use their very sensitive infra-red thermal heat detection camera to look for a person or body.
The TVP Helicopter Search Team
At the lower front is a dark pod. It’s a LEO-2 thermal-imaging camera made by FLIR Systems Inc. It was a state of the art camera system that was exquisitely sensitive to body heat. The camera can’t always see through damp tree leaves for example – but it will see through the gaps in a leaf canopy as the camera moves overhead.
The flight log records this as 03:20 – but all UK flights are logged in UTC/GMT time; this was summer time so local time was an hour ahead of UTC. G-CPSH searched for 00:45 before returning to RAF Benson to re-fuel.
The second search started at 03:35 and lasted 00:40.
The crew of G-CPSH would usually comprise a pilot, a camera operator and at least an observer officer or two.
Body not found
The search area was relatively small – a rectangle from Southmoor to the Thames, downstream to Newbridge and back to Kingston Bagpuize – see map, right. An area of barely 3 square miles – that included Harrowdown Hill. Given this, it is clear that a total flight time of 85 minutes would have enabled a very thorough search.
Much of this ground is open-fields that could have been scanned very rapidly. They would have seen rabbits, hares, deer, cattle, cats and dogs as a matter of routine. Finding a warm human body would be a very easy target – even under some sort of cover.
They would have concentrated their search on these areas of leaf canopy – trees, bracken, copses etc.
But - both Search Logs are listed as – “Confirmed Clear”.
G-CPSH made another flight later in the day – from RAF Benson to Harrowdown Hill to take aerial photographs and videos of the site. It was overhead for 00:20 and landed briefly for 00:05.
At the foot of that Flight Log is an intriguing note –
“Helitele tested with Abingdon silver suite as passing Abingdon. A/O.”
“Helitele” is a slang word for the LEO-2 camera – or any other helicopter born aerial camera. It is derived from a very early camera system called Marconi Heli-Tele. The abbreviation “A/O” reads as “All OK”.
G-CPSH did a very careful search of the area where David Kelly’s body was found evidence of a person or recently dead body.
They declared the area was - “Confirmed Clear”.
Camera Check
In view of the fact that David Kelly’s body was found on Harrowdown Hill – the crew of G-CPSH ran a test on their FLIR LEO-2 camera later at Abingdon and found it was working perfectly – and logged it as “All OK”.
The obvious conclusion that has to be drawn is that David Kelly’s body wasn’t on Harrowdown Hill when G-CPSH searched the area – up to 04:15.
His body arrived there sometime after 04:15.
TVP’s Helicopter Search Team and the Hutton Inquiry
This search team was a complete master at the art of finding warm bodies from the air. They made two comprehensive searches of the area – including Harrowdown Hill and found no body.
They would have seen cats, dogs, foxes, badgers, rabbits, etc.
If there was a warm body they would have found it.
Despite their findings and expertise they were not wanted at the Hutton Inquiry – their findings would not “fit” with their projected account of events.
TVP’s “Operation Mason”
Once TVP had committed to take David Kelly’s overdue walk seriously – a specific project was set up. This was “Operation Mason”. The name “Mason” was simply taken off an alphabetical list of project names; a routine procedure.
Detective Chief Inspector Alan Young headed it. The operation was started with a retrospective time of 14:30 on Thursday the 17th; this was simply the time when David Kelly was, without doubt, last seen. It ended at 09:30 on the 18th – a total of 19 hours.
Two Police Forces and a Collision
As I said in Chapter 1, I believe David Kelly died 40 miles away – a fact known to some parts of TVP and other agencies. This part of TVP was now involved in a complex cover-up.
At Abingdon, however, TVP were treating David Kelly as a missing person and doing things by the book.
At some point, however, these two disparate operations would collide. Detective Chief Inspector Alan Young, Sergeant Simon Morris and their colleagues – functioning as regular TVP - would soon realise that some very irregular police activity was happening – that was quite outside of their control.
It is astonishing that DCI Alan Young who headed Operation Mason made no appearance at the Hutton Inquiry (HI); neither did Sergeant Simon Morris.
I said in Chapter 1 that I believed there were four classes of “witnesses” –
- Those requested by Lord Hutton – who accepted his invitation
- Those requested by Lord Hutton – who declined his invitation
- Those requested by Lord Hutton - who declined his invitation – but were then pressurised to accept
- Those not requested and not wanted by Lord Hutton – but who should have given evidence.
The Dog Search Team
 |
| Louise Holmes and Paul Chapman |
It cannot be emphasised too much that this was, apart from the helicopter team, the one and only search team actually deployed by TVP.
TVP’s own search team was being assembled at Abingdon and arrived at Harrowdown Hill over an hour after David Kelly’s body was found.
The dog search team was, unlike the other four teams, a civilian resource recruited to help TVP.
Louise Holmes and Paul Chapman were awoken early that morning. They were members of the Berkshire Lowland Search and Rescue team (SEBEV).
In the search for David Kelly only one search team was actually put on the ground by TVP – this was it.
Search Path
David Kelly could easily have walked anywhere within, at the minimum, 25 square miles of his home.
But - this team was tasked with searching a single short footpath. It was three quarters of a mile long – and took them within yards of his body.
They were clearly set up to find his body.
In other words, someone in TVP knew where the body was.
 |
| The Searcher’s followed the red path. The red chevron marks David Kelly’s body. The blue arrow shows the wind direction; lower red star is Westfield. |
TVP’s own search team, led by PC Jonathan Sawyer, was still at TVP’s Abingdon station when David Kelly’s body was found.
They were woken up at about 5am and agreed to take part in the search request in Oxfordshire – over 40 miles - well away from their base and outside of their normal area.
Louise drove them to Abingdon Police station – arriving at about 7:15/30am.
Here SEBEV’s Control Manager and TVP officers briefed them. They were given copies of local maps and a photo of David Kelly.
They were told to go to the end of Common Lane (=Tucks Lane) in Longworth (upper red star on map). Then to search the footpath to the River Thames. This was about three-quarters of a mile away.
The Search Task
The footpath ran right past the east-side of the copse on Harrowdown Hill.
They were bound to pass within yards of David Kelly’s body.
They started from South to North with a wind from behind them.
The hill is a “plug” of Lower Corallian Silt – a form of limestone – in an area of softer Oxford Clay – part of the archaic River Thames flood plain. It is one of several similar minor hills along the line of the Thames in this area. It is 325ft above sea level and some 60ft above adjacent fields. The top of the hill is covered in a copse of deciduous trees.
They walked the footpath and climbed up into the south part of the Copse. They explored the south side of the copse. They were held back from further exploration by a wire fence running west to east.
It is likely that they came within a few yards of David Kelly’s body in this search of the south part. But – the wind was blowing through the copse and away from them.
They then walked back down to the footpath and went on towards the River Thames (B on map). Here they found a boat moored up to the bank.
They chatted to the three or four people on the boat. The boat people said that they had heard the helicopter that night. But - they had no knowledge of the missing David Kelly. They also mention the sight of police officers in the field earlier on – see below.
A body
As they walked south they would cross the breeze coming through and down from the Copse on Harrowdown Hill. At this point Brock, the search dog – right -should pick up the scent of David Kelly – and that is just what he did. He ran off into the copse. Louise Holmes followed into the copse and she saw a body slumped against the bottom of a tree.
She got to within a few feet of the body. She recognised it as that of Dr Kelly – from the photograph she had.
At the Inquiry she said –
- he was at the base of the tree with almost his head and his shoulders just slumped back against the tree
- his legs were straight in front of him
- his right arm was to the side of him
- his left arm had a lot of blood on it and was bent back in a funny position
- she had no doubt that he was dead
She also said - about Mr Chapman - that he was further back than she was. He stayed back to telephone Abingdon control.
Paul Chapman described the scene at the Inquiry –
- he was sitting with his back up against a tree and
- there was an obvious injury to his left arm
- it was all covered in blood
Position of David Kelly’s Body
The position of David Kelly’s body became contentious. The searchers gave a clear account of one position.
Later, the paramedics and others gave a very different account.
Why did the body move; who moved it; why is it not explained?
Lord Brian Hutton, however, chooses to fudge and ignore the issues that arose.
The issue of the position of the body will be dealt with separately.
I believe that the change in the position of the body can now be explained.
And it is of immense importance.
Time of Finding Body
This critical matter seems clouded in mystery and isn’t even raised by Lord Brian Hutton. 09:20 is often given as the time the body was found.
However, modelling the search path described, starting at 08:00, I and other scientist colleagues, estimate that 08:45 is a more probable time.
In fact Paul Chapman’s first statement to a TVP officer that morning (shown in the Hutton Inquiry Publication) is timed at 09:15 – so 09:20 is clearly wrong.
Reporting the find of David Kelly’s body
Once Brock and Louise Holmes had found David Kelly’s body, Paul Chapman stepped back clear of the copse and telephoned Abingdon control; but he couldn’t get a reply. He rang 999, explained the situation, asked that they contact Abingdon and ask that they be called. This took a few minutes. Abingdon police station rang him and he reported their find.
They then walked back to Louise’s car – getting there at about 09:00.
The paramedics told me that Louise Holmes was very upset at finding a body while Paul Chapman was deliriously elated.
Out of the Blue – Three TVP Officers
To their surprise, a little later, at about 08:55, they met three Criminal Investigation Department (CID) police officers walking towards them.
Both the searchers state, without doubt, that there were three officers.
One was DC Coe (Graham Coe), another DC Shields (Colin Shields) and a “third man”; this third man’s identity has never been convincingly explained; despite Michael Page’s explanation at the HI.
A local resident of Tucks Lane, Longworth, observed this meeting. He had taken his dog for a walk at about 08:30. Sometime later, he saw the meeting of the two searchers and their dog with the three policemen; he also saw one car (that of Louise Holmes). He assumed that the three policemen must have arrived on foot.
His wife joined him at this time.
Much later on they saw a “hoard” of TVP officers arrive on site. Some were then tasked to perform a finger–tip search of the pathways and road.
Subsequently both he and his wife gave detailed statements to TVP. Neither of these is recorded in the Account of Evidence submitted to the Inquiry by Thames Valley Police –
Yet these were local residents who had seen significant events unfold.
Just how many similar undeclared statements there are isn’t known.
DC Coe and colleagues
DC Coe was instructed to –
“Go and make house to house inquiries in the area where Dr Kelly lived.”
His first, and only, house to house visit was to a house opposite the Kelly’s home. Here he met Mrs Ruth Absalom a solitary widow. She said she had met David Kelly on a walk the day before. DC Coe duly recorded this.
He should have then moved on to other neighbours to collect as much information as he could.
However, he didn’t do any further inquiries, but instead went to “the area where Mrs Absalom met David Kelly”.
This seems a dereliction of duties – going off-task to pursue his own objective.
He led the TVP trio to the site of Mrs Absalom’s meeting. Then they then walked through Longworth village and down Tuck’s Lane to the open fields and, in the near distance, Harrowdown Hill. Yet at the HI, Mrs Absalom gave the impression that David Kelly had walked away from Harrowdown Hill. This walk would have taken about half an hour – assuming they were on foot.
As soon as they arrived at the end of Tuck’s Lane they saw Louise Holmes’ car, the two searchers and their dog in the field. They introduced themselves to the searchers.
The searchers explained their find of a body. Paul Chapman led DC Coe to the copse on Harrowdown Hill and showed him David Kelly’s body. My estimate is that DC Coe saw the body at about 09:05. Paul Chapman took the lead at this time because Louise Holmes was very upset at her find.
At this time DC Coe was de facto in charge of the crime scene until the TVP search party, being assembled at Abingdon, arrived.
A Silent Hour
DC Graham Coe was in charge of David Kelly’s body and the crime scene for about an hour from 09:00. Yet, we know nothing about any events in this hour. The TVP trio had arrived on foot and had no significant equipment with them.
Why they arrived at Harrowdown Hill hasn’t been explained; nor has the presence of the “third officer”.
We do know that David Kelly’s body was slumped against a tree trunk at 08:45 – as clearly described by the searchers.
When the paramedics arrived at 09:50 his body was flat on its back and 18″ clear of the tree trunk.
DC Coe can offer no explanation for this save for saying that the body was always flat on its back.
In this Silent Hour two crucial events occurred – of which nothing has been previously said.
It will take two chapters to explain these profoundly important events.
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