The Hutton Inquiry concentrated on a single radio broadcast by the BBC. It did not examine relations between the Blair Government and the BBC during the war in Iraq. The rightwing Daily Mail said that Lord Hutton's long-awaited verdict had attracted 'widespread incredulity', and that Lord Hutton's report 'does a great disservice to the British people. It fails to set its story in the context of the BBC's huge virtues and the government's sore vices.'

As The Independent newspaper put it - on a white, otherwise blank front page - Hutton's report was 'A Whitewash'.

There's barely a skerrick of criticism, nor even noteworthy scepticism, about government motives and intentions throughout the entire document. Thus, for some, it'll always smell of whitewash.

The BBC is pilloried as handling a crucial story in irresponsible fashion and for faulty editing procedures.

The Blair Government emerges as extraordinarily sensitive to stories critical of its approach to the Iraq invasion and, generally, bullying and hostile towards BBC attempts to provide a forum for a balanced debate over the necessity to invade Iraq.

One of many ironies is, of course, that Blair's intelligence sources were probably wrong and Gilligan's - at least to a degree - were right. Iraq, almost certainly, did not have WMD deployable within 45 minutes. Thus Hutton's terms of reference have had the consequence of the Blair Government effectively being rewarded for getting it wrong.

Errol Simper
The Australlian 5feb04