He has been a judge for 24 years and was Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland from 1988 to 1997 after making his name as a prosecutor in high-profile cases, including that of Bernadette Devlin, MP.

His time in Northern Ireland gave him considerable insight into the workings of the Secret Intelligence Service and attuned him to the political sensitivities of cases involving state security.

In the non-jury trial of Patrick Nash, a republican accused of plotting the murder of four judges, he cleared him after Nash protested that his confession was beaten out of him by the RUC.

The Oxford-educated judge, aged 72, was one of the law lords who decided that a public interest defence was not available to David Shayler, the former MI5 agent who disclosed secrets alleging incompetence in the security services.

Known as a meticulous investigator, Lord Hutton has been set a remit “urgently to conduct an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr Kelly”.

He has already made clear that he will decide “as I think right within my terms of reference the matters which will be the subject of my investigation”. His report is likely to appear late in the autumn despite the Government’s desire for a swift, lean inquiry.

It is unlikely to be ready before the party conference season starts in September and would be politically difficult to release during the Tory or Labour conferences. In any case, sections of the report will have to be referred back to any people criticised, under the Salmon rules, before publication.

Lord Hutton chose James Dingemans, QC, 39, as counsel to the inquiry. The married father of three, an Oxford blue for rugby, made his name defending death-row cases in Privy Council and describes his most memorable case as “acting for a person who had been mauled by a lion in an English seaside town (the lion had escaped from a circus)”.

Lord Hutton and Mr Dingemans must now make a key decision that will affect the course and length of the inquiry: whether counsel for witnesses will be able to cross-examine other witnesses. If that is permitted, the process could extend into November.

Clifford Chance, the world’s biggest law firm, has been appointed solicitors to the inquiry, a sign that Lord Hutton is determined to ensure that it is seen to be independent. Normally the Government Legal Service is used.

Martin Smith, a specialist in administrative and public law and senior associate at Clifford Chance, will be solicitor to the inquiry. He will be supervised by Michael Smyth, head of public law at Clifford Chance.

Lee Hughes, of the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA), will be the secretary to the inquiry, in charge of organising witnesses and the publication of transcripts.

The 52-year-old career civil servant was head of the Government’s Freedom of Information and Data Protection section from 1997 until becoming head of administrative justice at the DCA in April.

He is the most senior of a five-strong team from the DCA seconded to the inquiry to handle its smooth running and media operation.

A team has been set up in the Cabinet Office to support government witnesses called to give evidence to Lord Hutton’s inquiry. The unit, under Sir David Omand, will also gather classified documents.

The Ministry of Defence is the third government department to set up its own team of staff working on documents for the inquiry. Transcripts of the hearings will appear on the inquiry’s website: www.the-hutton-inquiry.org.uk

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