HUTTON INQUIRY: Mr Tony Blair and his defence minister will appear before the Hutton Inquiry today and tomorrow. Deaglán de Bréadún examines the potential for damage to the prime minister.
The political future of Mr Tony Blair and his Defence Secretary, Mr Geoff Hoon, will almost certainly depend on their performances in the witness box at the Hutton Inquiry in London.
The inquiry, set up to conduct an urgent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the apparent suicide of the scientist and weapons expert Dr David Kelly, will today hear evidence from Mr Hoon, political head of the Ministry of Defence where Dr Kelly worked as a consultant.
Tomorrow, Mr Blair is expected to spend about 2½ hours in the witness box, answering questions about his role in the events which culminated in the discovery of Dr Kelly's body in Oxfordshire woods on July 18th.
Despite speculation that the Defence Secretary could be the "fall guy" who takes the main burden of blame in the affair and decides to "fall on his sword" in order to protect the prime minister, Mr Hoon is expected to mount a robust defence of his actions in relation to Dr Kelly.
The unprecedented release of 900 official and confidential documents, e-mails and memos at the weekend, contrary to the normal practice of holding such material back for 30 years, has raised further questions about the activities of the Blair government over its handling of Dr Kelly and the compilation of the controversial dossier on Iraqi weapons capabilities, published on September 24th last year.
But after two weeks of hearings there is still no obvious smoking gun which would be deemed sufficient at this stage to destroy the political career of either Mr Blair or Mr Hoon. Much could depend, therefore, on the approach taken by the Hutton Inquiry during questioning.
It is clear that the prime minister and his director of communications, Mr Alistair Campbell, took an intense interest in both the style and content of the Iraq weapons dossier and, subsequently, on the question of how and when the public spotlight should be allowed to shine on Dr Kelly.
The lines of responsibility between No 10 Downing Street, Mr Blair's office, and the Ministry of Defence are a likely focus of interest for the inquiry.
The inquiry has also shown a keen interest as to why Dr Kelly's name had to be released at all, whether directly or by means of hints and implications. At the same time, evidence has emerged that Dr Kelly's name was common knowledge even before the Blair government began dropping heavy hints to journalists about the scientist's identity.
Both Mr Blair and Mr Hoon may well take the opportunity to highlight the role of the media, particularly the BBC and one of its defence correspondents, Andrew Gilligan, who set the latest train of events in motion with his controversial report on Radio 4's Today programme on May 29th that Downing Street had "sexed-up" the Iraq dossier to make the threat from Saddam Hussein appear greater and more immediate than it was.
The inquiry has made unprecedented use of e-mails posted between the different parties and, if either Mr Blair or Mr Hoon find their memory of particular episodes to be deficient, senior counsel to the inquiry, Mr James Dingemans QC, is likely to assist them by displaying e-mails or other documents on an electronic screen.
Whatever the outcome in personal terms for Mr Blair and Mr Hoon, the proceedings so far have set a new standard in openness and transparency, providing a remarkable insight into the workings of Downing Street and the Whitehall bureaucracy.
Mr Blair, just returned from his summer holidays, will obviously get the lion's share of attention tomorrow but there will be hard questions also for the BBC chairman, Mr Gavyn Davies, who is likely to be asked why the corporation took such a firm public line in support of the Today programme's coverage when, privately, it appeared to be harbouring serious doubts. Lord Hutton, former Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, plans to adjourn the inquiry from September 4th-15th and to bring the public hearings to a close on September 25th.
He has said it will then take him "some time" to prepare his report.
The internet address for the inquiry's website is: www.the-hutton-inquiry.org.uk