Top civil servant recalled to Kelly inquiry

Top UK defence aide Sir Kevin Tebbit returned to the spotlight of the Hutton Inquiry today in a special one-off hearing.

The permanent secretary at the UK Ministry of Defence was recalled to the Royal Courts of Justice to be cross-examined over his involvement in events leading up to the death of British government scientist Dr David Kelly.

Lord Hutton reconvened proceedings in Court 73 after Sir Kevin’s scheduled recall in the second phase of the inquiry last month was postponed on medical grounds.

The inquiry has already heard the closing statements from each of the key lawyers involved but Lord Hutton said he would sit again today to allow Sir Kevin to be questioned by barristers acting for the Kelly family and for the inquiry, as well as counsel for the UK government.

He was expected to be asked about the treatment of Dr Kelly after he came forward to admit meeting BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan, and events leading up to the decision to confirm the scientist's name to the press.

He was also likely to face questions over an e-mail sent by a MoD official, saying that the ministry was unlikely to stand in Dr Kelly’s way if he chose to give evidence to two parliamentary committees.

The lawyer for the Kelly family, Jeremy Gompertz QC, has questioned other witnesses about whether it was Dr Kelly’s decision to appear before the committees or if he came under pressure from the UK government.

During his evidence-in-chief, on August 20, the inquiry heard that Sir Kevin had written to British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon concerning Dr Kelly’s potential appearances and urged him to “have some regard for the man“.