They have also dominated part of mine, having become embroiled in the argument between the Government and the BBC as a Minster and former BBC employee.
Lord Hutton could not have been clearer. The allegations against the Prime Minister, the Defence Secretary and Alistair Campbell were, in Lord Hutton�s words �unfounded�.
The BBC had made �grave allegations� that were �false� and had repeated them. As I knew at the time, from friends who work at the BBC, many decent journalists there were deeply unhappy about Andrew Gilligan�s original report and the way the corporation handled it.
By failing to admit their mistake and correct it, the BBC escalated the row with the Government, which ultimately led to the tragic suicide of David Kelly.
At the time of writing, the Chairman of the BBC, Gavyn Davies has resigned.
That is not enough. A journalist of Gilligan�s unreliability should have no place in the BBC and must be sacked. He and Gavyn Davies were not the only ones to make serious mistakes.
From the Today programme presenter, John Humphrys, through the whole of BBC news management right up the governors themselves there was endemic failure.
A good man died, a Prime Minister had his integrity wrongly impugned and a terrible falsehood entered the consciousness of the nation.
It is not just the BBC that should take responsibility for this, but all those parts of the media that too readily rush to judgement, defame people who often have no right of reply and then fail to admit their mistakes when the truth is revealed.
The BBC is a great institution and we must preserve its independence. But only a full clear out of those responsible for this debacle will restore public confidence in it.
