Hutton Inquiry set to call PM
The Hutton inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr Kelly will be calling the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, to give evidence.
In a statement to open the inquiry, Lord Hutton listed witnesses to be called and announced that the Prime Minister, along with the Defence Secretary, would be called to give evidence on their knowledge of discussions on Dr Kelly as the possible source. This is likely to be a significant part of the inquiry as the public scrutinises what role ministers had in the main causes of the Dr’s death.
As well as Ministers, Andrew Gilligan will be called on to explain the details of his meetings and discussions with Dr Kelly, and to outline the preparation and editorial scrutiny of his BBC broadcast. BBC executives were also listed for their explanation of editorial practices.
Lord Hutton took time to list the series of events, beginning with the publishing of the Government’s dossier, which is publicly known and which he will consider over the course of his inquiry.
Notable among these were the issuing of the Dossier with the 45-minute claim, the broadcast of the report by Mr Gilligan in which he claimed a ‘senior official’ was the source of accusation, and the publishing of a related article by Mr Gilligan in the Daily Mail.
On Dr Kelly himself Lord Hutton listed his coming forward as a possible source, his disclosure to a parliamentary committee that the report did not accurately reflect his conversations with Andrew Gilligan, the letter sent to the BBC by Mr Hoon to ask for confirmation of Dr Kelly as a source, and the making public of his name.
It was initially intended that the inquiry would wait until Dr Kelly’s funeral had taken place, but when Lord Hutton met with his widow they agreed that a preliminary hearing could take place before it because of the delay in his burial.
Dr Kelly’s body was found two weeks ago after it was suggested that he might be the BBC’s witness for a story claiming that the Government ‘sexed up’ intelligence information used to justify going to war in Iraq.
The BBC and the Government became embroiled in a row about the accusation, which went as far as saying the Government added a claim that Iraq could deploy weapons in 45 minutes to its dossier on Iraq and weapons of mass destruction.
This public furore may have prompted him to make clear some technical points about how the inquiry will be conducted. He stated that the Inquiry would not be a trial between conflicting views but an inquiry into events based on evidence sessions. He also noted that he would not swear in witnesses, as he does not hold this power.
The rest of this preliminary hearing is to focus on discussions about legal representation and how much of the inquiry should be televised.
