‘Nothing shocks me, I’m a scientist’

The Sunday Times January 25, 2004

Spy, boffin, disgruntled civil servant: this was the David Kelly I knew

By Nicholas Rufford

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Kelly was diligent in his pursuit of Saddam Hussein's henchmen. One of his long-standing foes was General Amer Al-Saadi, Saddam's British-educated weapons adviser. Al-Saadi was responsible for Iraq's development of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) from 1972 onwards. Kelly had long suspected him of lying to weapons inspectors.

He described the Iraqi general as "a very sinister and very charming man. He was one of the brightest people I have ever met. But he supported the wrong cause".

Kelly interviewed Al-Saadi at least 20 times during UN inspection visits to Iraq. His questioning of the general helped to expose flaws in Iraq’s supposedly "full, complete, final and comprehensive declaration of weapons of mass destruction" in December 2002.

When the Iraqi declaration was rejected by the UN, it was the beginning of the end for Saddam. Within weeks America had completed its military build-up and invaded Iraq.

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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-976810,00.html