Wikipedia:Today's featured article/July 17, 2023

David Kelly (14 May 1944 – 17 July 2003) was a Welsh authority on biological warfare. Appointed to the United Nations Special Commission in 1991 as a chief weapons inspector in Iraq, he led ten of the organisation's missions. After the publication of a dossier in 2002, which stated that Iraq could deploy chemical and biological weapons within 45 minutes, Kelly had an off-the-record interview with Andrew Gilligan of the BBC about the claim. Gilligan's reporting stated that Alastair Campbell, the Downing Street director of communications, insisted on the 45-minute claim, something which Kelly denied saying. Kelly appeared before a parliamentary committee on 15 July 2003, and before another the next day; he was found dead near his home the day after. Tony Blair, the prime minister, set up an inquiry under Lord Hutton that concluded that Kelly had killed himself. A review led by Dominic Grieve between 2010 and 2011 backed the finding. Kelly's death has been the subject of documentaries and been fictionalised in media works.