Harrowing personal testimony from the family of the late Dr David Kelly has upped the stakes in the Hutton Inquiry and increased the likelihood of a strong report that may criticise all concerned, including the British government, civil service chiefs and the BBC.
Out of respect for their privacy, Ms Janice Kelly, the scientist's widow, and her daughter, Janice, were allowed to give evidence yesterday by video link, although it was believed they were in the precincts of the Royal Courts of Justice in central London at the time.
Ms Kelly produced a document from her late husband's filing cabinet which appeared to show that he was being considered for a knighthood before he died, in recognition of his work on weapons of mass destruction. He had received a CMG (Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George) in 1996.
Speaking clearly and without hesitation or emotion, Ms Kelly testified that her husband was "desperately unhappy" and "totally dismayed" when he was named as a source for the controversial BBC report about alleged distortion of a British government dossier on Iraqi weapons.
She believed he felt "totally let down and betrayed" by his employers, the UK Ministry of Defence, since it was they who effectively revealed his name to the media. She contradicted previous evidence that Dr Kelly was informed in advance about a press release stating that a source for the BBC story had come forward.
The Ministry of Defence gave herself and her husband advance warning to get out of their Oxfordshire home before it was besieged by reporters and camera crews. She said that, earlier, a Sunday Times journalist had made an offer, on behalf of the newspaper's proprietor, Mr Rupert Murdoch, to put the Kellys up in a hotel, away from the media spotlight, if Dr Kelly would contribute an article.
Dr Kelly's daughter, Rachel, told the inquiry she discussed with her father the report by the BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan and "he could not understand how Gilligan could make such forceful claims from the conversation that they had had".
Describing her frantic search for her father in the highways and byways of Oxfordshire on July 17th, she said: "It occurred to me for the first time then that Dad might not be coming home."
She expressed her hope that, as a result of the inquiry, "people will learn from the circumstances surrounding my father's death and show more compassion and kindness in future".
Dr Kelly's sister, Ms Sarah Pape, said that in her final conversations with him, "he certainly did not convey to me that he was feeling depressed; and absolutely nothing that would have alerted me to the fact that he might have been considering suicide".
The inquiry is due to adjourn on September 25th to allow Lord Hutton to write his report.