The inquiry into the suicide of British government weapons expert David Kelly wraps up 22 days of oral evidence on Wednesday before the senior jurist who is heading it sits down to write up his findings.
BBC chairperson Gavyn Davies heads the final list of witnesses being recalled before Lord Brian Hutton to be cross-examined over their role in events which led the former United Nations arms inspector to take his own life in July.
Kelly was the source of a hotly disputed BBC radio report in May that alleged that the British government ”sexed up” a government intelligence dossier on Iraq and weapons of mass destruction.
That dossier, published one year ago on Wednesday, claimed that Iraq could deploy chemical or biological weapons in just 45 minutes, though it failed to specify that it was referring to smaller battlefield weapons.
Kelly’s death, several days after he was exposed by the Ministry of Defence as the BBC’s source, plunged Prime Minister Tony Blair into the worst crisis of his six years in office.
Davies is due to be asked about a letter from Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon less than two weeks before Kelly died, which raises the possibility of whether the BBC would be prepared to disclose the name of its source in confidence.
Davies, who chairs the BBC’s board of governors, is to be examined by his own counsel and cross-examined by lawyers for the inquiry and the British government.
Also to appear on Wednesday is Kelly’s ”line manager” or immediate superior at the Ministry of Defence, Bryan Wells, who is to explain further how the ministry dealt with Kelly after he acknowledged that he was the BBC’s source.
Closing statements could begin later on Wednesday, and continue into Thursday, before Hutton retires to write up his findings, which he has said will not be published before October. — Sapa-AFP