BRITAIN: Hutton inquiry finishes hearings

BY ROHAN PEARCE

The inquiry into the apparent suicide of David Kelly, an advisor to the British defence ministry who was involved in compiling British Prime Minister Tony Blair's September 2002 dossier on Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction, finished hearing witnesses on September 25.

James Hutton, the former lord chief justice in Northern Ireland, who heads the inquiry, will compile a report into the cause of Kelly's death and the role of Blair's government and the BBC.

At least one of the central actors in the dossier drama has already quit his job — Blair's director of communications, Alistair Campbell, resigned on August 29. However, Campbell claims his decision was unrelated to the inquiry.

Much of the controversy over the dossier has centred on its claim that "military planning allows for some of the WMD to be ready within 45 minutes of an order to use them".

Testifying to the inquiry on September 4, "Mr A", employed by the Counter Proliferation Arms Control Department, said: "I think all those of us without access to that intelligence immediately asked the question: well, what does the 45 minutes refer to? Are you referring to a technical process? Are you referring to a commander control process?"

He added that "if your assessment causes you to immediately ask questions, then we felt that it was not perhaps a statement that ought to be included".

According to Mr A: "The perception was that the dossier had been round the houses several times in order to try to find a form of words which would strengthen certain political objectives".

From Green Left Weekly, October 1, 2003.

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From GLW issue 556