He is expected to talk about the culture of the medical profession and explain the role of the council in maintaining standards.

However, he is unlikely to go into detail on the GMC's inquiry into three doctors at the centre of the affair.

The case was the longest in the council's history and led to two doctors being struck off and another being banned from practising on children for three years.

Expert witnesses

Sir Donald, who has been a senior member of the GMC for 20 years, is the first witness in a week when the Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI) public inquiry takes evidence mainly from its own independent specialists.

The GMC inquiry looked at 53 operations at the BRI in which 29 patients died and four were left brain-injured.

Dr John Roylance accused Sir Donald Irvine of bias

Surgeon Mr James Wisheart and the hospital's chief executive DR John Roylance were struck off, and Mr Janardan Dhasmana, another surgeon, was banned from operating on children for three years.

The public inquiry has a wider-ranging remit, including the culture and attitude of professionals in the health service.

Sir Donald is expected to discuss how doctors regulated and monitored their own performance in the 12 years to 1995, the period being studied by the inquiry.

Following the GMC case, Dr Roylance appealed to the Privy Council, claiming Sir Donald had been biased during the hearings because his own grandson was suffering a heart condition at the time.