LONDON, July 19: The British weapons expert at the centre of a row over the British government’s Iraq arms dossier bled to death after apparently slashing his own wrist, police said on Saturday. Prime Minister Tony Blair, currently in Japan, has promised a judicial inquiry into Kelly’s death.

After confirming that a body found on Friday west of London had been formally identified as that of defence official David Kelly, a Thames Valley police spokesman said there was no evidence anyone else was involved.

“The cause of death was haemhoragging from a wound to his left wrist,” the police spokesman said.

“The injury is consistent with having been caused by a bladed object.

“We have recovered a knife and an open packet of (painkilling) Co-Proxymol tablets at the scene. Whilst our inquiries are continuing there is no indication at this stage of any other party being involved.”

Kelly, 59, was a Ministry of Defence consultant on biological weapons and former UN arms inspector in Iraq.

His body was found in a wooded area near his home in Oxfordshire on Friday, a day after he was reported missing by his family.

His disappearance came two days after he denied being the source of a BBC report that a February dossier on weapons of mass destruction, which was used to justified the war in Iraq had been “sexed up” by British government officials.

Kelly, a former chief weapons inspector, worked for the UN Special Commission in Iraq (UNMOVIC’s predecessor) from 1991 to 1998.

He also served as a lecturer and instructor for UNMOVIC’s advanced bioweapons training courses, and, from November 2000 until February of this year, he helped train UNMOVIC’s bioweapons inspectors, the group noted in the statement.—AFP