BBC chief to give Hutton evidence

Mr Dyke will appear before inquiry on Monday

BBC director general Greg Dyke has been called to give evidence to the Hutton Inquiry into the death of weapons expert Dr David Kelly.

Mr Dyke will give evidence to the inquiry on Monday as one of a batch of new witnesses, it was announced on Friday.

Air Marshal Sir Joe French, former chief of defence intelligence at the Ministry of Defence, will also give evidence on Monday.

MONDAY'S WITNESSES Air Marshal Sir Joe French Former chief of defence intelligence Tony Cragg Former deputy chief of defence intelligence Security staff Dr Richard Scott Defence Science and Technology Laboratory Greg Dyke Director General, BBC Profile: Air Marshal Sir Joe French

Other witnesses will include former deputy chief of defence intelligence Tony Cragg and Dr Richard Scott from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.

The Hutton Inquiry said on Friday that details of other witnesses to give evidence to stage two of the investigation will be announced on Monday.

Mr Dyke will be asked about the row between the BBC and the government over the report by correspondent Andrew Gilligan in which it was suggested Downing Street had "sexed up" the Iraq weapons dossier.

BBC correspondent Nicholas Witchell said: "The director general is of course the editor-in-chief of the BBC, so he is the man who is ultimately responsible for the editorial controls.

"We do know that Greg Dyke, as the director general, was very hands-on in the formulation of the BBC's position in response to the criticisms of Alastair Campbell so I think the inquiry will wish to know his perspective on that row and why the BBC took the position that it did."

Air Marshal French was head of the Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS) when the Iraq dossier was drafted.

He also sat on the Joint Intelligence Committee, which assessed which information should be included in the dossier.

Final

The first stage of the Hutton inquiry heard that two DIS members had expressed concern about some aspects of the dossier.

Hutton Inquiry: Catching up with the story so far

In pictures

Air Marshal French may also be asked whether there was a meeting of the JIC to sign off the final dossier after it was suggested by former DIS manager Dr Brian Jones that there was no such meeting.

Dr Jones had written to Mr Cragg when he was deputy chief of defence intelligence expressing concern about the dossier.

Mr Scott had had discussions with Dr Kelly over his pay and grading.

Details of those witnesses being recalled to the inquiry will be announced by counsel to the inquiry James Dingemans on Monday.

Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon is expected to among those called back to give more evidence.

Prime Minister Tony Blair, his outgoing director of communications Alastair Campbell, chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee John Scarlett and Mr Gilligan have been tipped as possible candidates for a recall.

Lord Hutton this week wrote to all concerned, in preparation for the second stage of the inquiry.

He said last week that recalling witnesses did not necessarily mean they would be criticised in his report, which he plans to write after adjourning again on 25 September.

The first phase of the inquiry was adjourned on 4 September.

'Rigorous scrutiny'

Dr Kelly apparently committed suicide after being named as the suspected source for a BBC report claiming the government "sexed up" intelligence in the dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

Hoon regrets 'misunderstanding'

Since the first phase ended, Lord Hutton has been deciding which parts of the evidence "should be subjected to more detailed and rigorous scrutiny".

Those witnesses recalled could face questions from their own legal representatives and those representing other parties.

For Mr Hoon, a second appearance would come hard on the heels of being criticised in a report on how intelligence was handled in the run up to the war in Iraq.

On Thursday MPs on the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) said Mr Hoon had initially failed to disclose fully how concerns were raised by Defence Intelligence Staff about parts of the Iraq dossier.

'Untenable'

Mr Hoon told the House of Commons he regretted any "misunderstanding", saying he had always intended to be open about any disputes over the dossier's wording.

Conservative party leader Iain Duncan Smith said the defence secretary's position had become "untenable", and that he should resign or be sacked immediately

But Mr Hoon said he won't be resigning, despite the criticisms.

The report also revealed Tony Blair led Britain into war with Iraq despite intelligence chiefs warning it could increase the risk of terrorists getting hold of weapons of mass destruction.

But the ISC went on to say the September dossier was not "sexed up" by Alastair Campbell "or anyone else".