London: The grave of David Kelly, the Iraq weapons inspector, has been dug up and the body removed by his family after conspiracy theorists placed a placard by it and threatened to exhume his remains.

Sources close to Kelly's family said they had acted after the grave was "desecrated" by campaigners who believe the scientist did not commit suicide. The body was moved elsewhere and is understood to have been cremated.

Kelly died in 2003 after he was exposed as the source of a BBC report that an official dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction had been "sexed up". His death led to the Hutton inquiry, which found he had committed suicide, but there was no inquest.

Family sources said that the Justice for Kelly group, which claims the scientist's death was "not by his own hand", placed a placard next to Kelly's grave at St Mary's parish church, in Longworth, Oxfordshire, calling for an inquest. "They did the placard, they used to leave notes on the grave and they would have vigils," said a person close to the family. "Janice (Kelly's widow) hated it, she felt it was a desecration, and asked the police to get them to stop."

Gerrard Jonas, of Justice for Kelly, said: "Dr Kelly's body was... removed in the last week of July, headstone and all. They dug it up overnight. It was all done in haste...., he said.

Kelly was found dead near Longworth after swallowing 29 painkilling tablets and cutting his wrists.