Waiting for Hutton
There was a time when one looked forward to December because it meant the coming of Christmas, but now that Advent advertising is scheduled to begin in a few days, one has to find other reasons for anticipating the year's final month. And there are some. And there's one very special one: the publication of Lord Hutton's report on the death of British arms expert Dr David Kelly.
For those who've been baying for Tony Blair's blood these past few weeks, and that's the majority of the British and Euro media, the report may turn out to be a sore disappointment. Sure, Hutton will come down hard on how the British government (mis)handled the Kelly affair, but there's quite a bit of circumstantial evidence to suggest that he will be far harder on the BBC than on Tony Blair. You see, Hutton is a Northern Irish Presbyterian and they're a remarkable lot, with their belief in the Bible and their deep convictions about good and evil.
James Brian Edward Hutton was born in Belfast in 1931 and raised in the city's North Circular Road. A brilliant student, he went to get a first at Balliol College, Oxford, and returned home, where he began a successful practice as a barrister. That was 1954. Thirty-four years later, in 1988, he became Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland.
His career on the bench shows us that he is extremely respectful of procedure and hierarchy, and fiercely independent in his thinking. Three cases by way of illustration:
1. In 1990, he tried IRA man Patrick Nash who was accused of plotting to kill four judges, colleagues of Hutton's. Although Nash had confessed, he claimed in court that the Royal Ulster Constabulary had beaten the admission out of him. Hutton described Nash as "an accomplished liar", but upheld the presumption of innocence and set him free.
2. He showed his independence a few years later when he heard the controversial appeal of the British army private Lee Clegg against his prison sentence for shooting a teenage joyrider. Despite a lot of establishment support for the soldier, Hutton dismissed the appeal.3. As one of the law lords who heard the case of David Shayler, the former MI5 agent, he decided that Shayler could not argue that his disclosure of secrets was in the public interest.
That latter case might lead us to infer that Hutton believes members of the intelligence community, and specialists such as the late Dr Kelly, should refrain from broadcasting their official business. He may well feel sorry for Kelly and sympathise with the difficult position that he was in, but it's likely that he'll conclude the matter should have been dealt with, by all concerned, behind closed doors.
Because Hutton dislikes evasiveness, Geoff Hoon, the evasive defence secretary, should prepare for the worst, but then so should Greg Dyke and Gavyn Davies of the BBC. Their supporting of a reporter who was manufacturing the news to please a politically correct corporate agenda will cost them dearly.
Emerging unscathed will be Sir John Scarlett, the British intelligence chief, who clearly impressed Hutton with his acumen and the courage with which he defended his boss, Tony Blair. And what of the Prime Minister, himself? How will the Northern Irish Presbyterian Hutton judge the Scottish Covenanter Blair, who risked everything to help rid the world of the monster Saddam Hussein? Well, I think we've enough evidence now to deduce how he's going to decide, don't you?
Diarist of the day: Tony Benn, 29 September 1990[Labour Party Conference, Blackpool] "Two well-dressed men came up to me at the conference and said, 'Excuse me, sir, we are from the police. We have to advise you that somebody with a northern accent rang the Daily Mirror this morning saying that a contract had been put out to kill you and Ken Livingstone. Do you know where Mr Livingstone is?'
I said, 'I'll see him later, and I'll tell him. Thanks.' "
