THE Hutton inquiry into the death of David Kelly will not set out to reach a verdict on the row between Downing Street and the BBC which foreshadowed the scientist’s suicide.
In his opening statement at the Royal Courts of Justice yesterday, Lord Hutton said that his first priority was to establish a full account of the circumstances surrounding the death two weeks ago.
“This is an inquiry to be conducted by me; it is not a trial conducted between interested parties who have conflicting cases to advance,” he said.
The intention to limit the scope of the investigation means that the Government will not face detailed examination of its use of intelligence material or the case for war in Iraq. However, Lord Hutton signalled clearly that after the first stage had been completed he would begin a process that would lead to apportioning blame or recommending far-reaching reforms.
“Evidence may be given of decisions and conduct on the part of individuals which might subject them to criticism. I will adjourn to consider what points and issues should be subject to closer and more rigorous scrutiny,” he said.
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Witnesses will include Tony Blair, Alastair Campbell, Downing Street’s communications director, and Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary. Donald Anderson, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, and Ann Taylor, chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, will also be called.
Dr Kelly cut his left wrist on Harrowdown Hill on July 17, after being cross-examined by these committees on July 15 and July 16. Lord Hutton, 72, said he would take evidence in the chronological order of 38 events leading up to the suicide which he outlined yesterday. He said that the inquiry would resume on August 11, after Dr Kelly’s funeral on Wednesday. It will begin with evidence from a government official on Dr Kelly’s expertise and the role he had played in preparing last September’s intelligence dossier.
This will go some way to resolving questions over whether Dr Kelly was in a position to be a credible source for BBC allegations that Downing Street “sexed up” the dossier against the wishes of the intelligence services.
Lord Hutton will then call Andrew Gilligan, the BBC defence correspondent, who first broadcast these claims on May 29. He will be asked about his evening meeting with Dr Kelly at the Charing Cross Hotel on May 22, the “nature of his editorial supervision” and whether he gave the Government warning of the story.
Mr Gilligan later used a newspaper article to allege that Mr Campbell was solely responsible for the dossier’s inclusion of “unreliable” information about Iraq’s ability to deploy weapons of mass destruction at 45 minutes’ notice.
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Yesterday a previously unpublished transcript of evidence that he gave to MPs on July 17 showed Mr Gilligan admitting that he had not been told this by Dr Kelly but had “inferred” it from their conversation. Yesterday Lord Hutton published a letter from Dr Kelly to his line manager at the MoD in which he suggested that Mr Gilligan either had another source for his report or had “considerably embellished my meeting with him”.
The BBC says that Mr Gilligan’s report is backed up by notes and a tape-recording made by Susan Watts and Gavin Hewitt, two other BBC journalists who spoke to Dr Kelly about the dossier.
They will also be asked to give evidence at the inquiry. Ms Watts has chosen to be represented by her own barrister instead of the BBC legal team. The inquiry will then move on to examine the Government’s treatment of Dr Kelly after he had admitted meeting Mr Gilligan and suggested that he might have been the BBC’s source on June 30.
Lord Hutton said he had already seen material showing that there were discussions between officials and ministers at the MoD, as well as other government departments about how to handle Dr Kelly.
But he added that he also wanted to see relevant “copies of letters, memoranda, reports and other documents” passed between the MoD and “other government officials”.
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The reference to officials outside the MoD puts the spotlight on key figures in Downing Street, including Mr Campbell, who have denied reports claiming that No 10 leaked Dr Kelly’s name to the media.
“At some stage in the course of the inquiry I propose to ask the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Defence to give evidence of their knowledge of the discussions which took place and the decisions which were taken in relation to Dr Kelly,” he said.
Mr Blair flew to Barbados yesterday but has said that he would be willing to break into his holiday to appear before the inquiry. Gavyn Davies, the BBC Chairman, will be called to answer questions about his exchange of letters with Mr Hoon over the identity of Mr Gilligan’s source.
Lord Hutton also said he intended to call Mr Campbell to give details of the discussions that took place about Dr Kelly and how his name became known. Three newspapers, including The Times, discovered Dr Kelly’s identity on July 9. Journalists involved in the story are likely to give evidence.
Other witnesses will include doctors, to explain why Dr Kelly’s body was found with electrocardiogram pads, as well as psychiatrists, friends and fellow members of the Baha’i faith to give insights into his state of mind.
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Dr Kelly’s widow, Janice, has agreed to give evidence. Lord Hutton may also call one or more of his daughters. In the outline sequence of events presented yesterday, it was disclosed that Dr Kelly had spent four days travelling around the West Country between July 10 and July 14 before arriving at the Oxford home of a daughter.
Lord Hutton promised that he would be fair but, because it was in the public interest to proceed swiftly, he would not allow cross-examination of witnesses unless this helped to inform the inquiry.
When the inquiry reopens, he will rule on an application from Sky News and ITV to allow cameras to film proceedings when witnesses such as Mr Blair or Mr Gilligan are giving evidence. Geoffrey Robertson, QC, said that an inquiry of huge political and constitutional importance that was likely to change the law should be given maximum exposure. This was opposed by Jeremy Gompertz, QC, representing the Kelly family, who said that the inquiry should not be turned into the “nation’s entertainment”.
On balance
The leak of Andrew Gilligan’s evidence to MPs, and Lord Hutton’s disclosure of David Kelly’s letter tipped the scales slightly in favour of the Government