British government's defence adviser David Kelly, suspected to be a source behind BBC's report that the government had 'sexed up' its dossier on Iraq's weapon capabilities, was on Friday found dead, four days after he was grilled by the Foreign Affairs Committee on the issue.

The body of 59-year-old Kelly, who was missing since Thursday, was found by a member of the police team searching for him in a wooded area at Harrowdown Hill, 8 km from his house in Oxfordshire.

Acting Superintendent of Police Dave Purnell said the body matched Kelly's description but formal identification would take place on Saturday.

The case was being treated as an 'unexplained' death, he said at a brief press conference, adding, "We will await the results of the post-mortem."

The body was discovered lying face down. No note was found either at the scene or at Kelly's house, the police
said.

Government said an independent judicial inquiry would be held in to the circumstances of his death if the body is confirmed that of Kelly.

Kelly, who worked in the MoD's counter-proliferation and arms control secretariat, was reported missing by his family on Thursday as he did not return after telling his wife he was going for a walk.