Anonymous MOD officials to appear before Hutton
The Hutton inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of the weapons expert, Dr David Kelly, is to hear evidence from two anonymous members of the defence intelligence staff later today.
The unnamed officials are expected to give their evidence via a video link from a separate room.
It is not known whether the two officials appearing today are the same two officials who expressed concern over the content of the controversial dossier.
The government and particularly the Prime Minister’s outgoing director of communications, Alastair Campbell, have rigorously denied the claims that the dossier had been changed to provide a more compelling argument for the conflict in Iraq.
Lord Hutton will hear evidence from the Home Office pathologist, Nicholas Hunt, who carried out Dr Kelly’s post mortem.
Also appearing is Richard Allan, a toxicologist who is expected to answer about the large quantities of the prescription painkillers that were found in Dr Kelly.
The weapons expert was found dead in a wood close to his Oxfordshire home; one of his wrists had been cut by a knife and he had a large amount of the painkiller, co-proxamol, in his bloodstream.
An extensive search was carried out in the area to locate Dr Kelly when his family became concerned after he failed to return from one of his regular walks.
Michael Page, the assistant chief constable at Thames Valley police who led the search, will also appear before the inquiry.
