It was with regret that we heard on 19th December that the High Court had refused a member of the public permission to judicially review the government’s recent decision not to hold a full coroner’s inquest into the death of Dr David Kelly.

With significant financial input from scores of Oldie readers, David Halpin, 71, a retired trauma surgeon from Devon, was the applicant in the case. He was effectively told by Mr Justice Nicol in December that his considerable anxieties about the alleged suicide of Dr Kelly hold no basis in law. He was also ordered to pay £5,568 of the government’s costs – in essence for daring to ask why Dr Kelly, whose body was found in suspicious circumstances in 2003, cannot have a proper inquest to establish finally how, where and when he died.

Journalist Miles Goslett pointed out in our September issue that Dr Kelly is thought to be the only person in modern times to die unnaturally in this country and be denied an inquest. As a result, many of you generously supported Mr Halpin’s campaign to try to secure one. Mr Halpin told The Oldie: ‘I am extremely grateful to your readers for their vital support. Nothing has changed as a result of the High Court judgment: Dr Kelly has still not had an inquest into his unnatural death and in my medical opinion people cannot bleed to death from division of their ulnar artery, which is what was officially found to have happened. The authorities have admitted yet again that they do not want the death of David Kelly to be treated in the normal way. We are left wondering why this should be so. We are going to review what we should do next.’

For updates, see www.inquest4drdk.co.uk

• As we go to press it has been announced that an e-petition has been set up calling for the resignation of Attorney General Dominic Grieve. If 100,000 signatures are collected the matter will have to be debated in parliament. To sign, see https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/
petitions/26133

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The diary is edited by Sarah Shannon.

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The Old Un's Diary, The Oldie, 65 Newman Street, London, W1T 3EG
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