With days to go before the Hutton Inquiry's report into events surrounding the death of Dr David Kelly, the BBC's Panorama programme looked at the affair.

In a previously unbroadcast interview, the late weapons expert said it would take Iraq "days or weeks" to deploy weapons of mass destruction.

Panorama disputed a BBC report that Number 10 ordered intelligence chiefs to add things to the Iraq weapons dossier.

And the programme heard from an ex-intelligence boss who fears his successors were part of Tony Blair's "magic circle".

BBC correspondent Nicholas Witchell said the programme made "very uncomfortable" viewing for the corporation.

What did you think of the programme? Send us your comments.

The following comments reflect the balance of opinion we have received so far:

This debate is now closed. Read your comments below.

It's saddening that a man should be driven to the point of mental collapse and suicide simply because key figures within two of our most significant institutions behaved in such a childish, pathetic manner. Neither Campbell nor the BBC wanted to lose face in a row that both could easily have been avoided or diffused; their mutual disinclination to act sensibly resulted in the death of a revered and respected scientist. The inquiry will clear both and a messy truce called - that will have to be it for Mrs Kelly and her children.
Ross, Ashington, UK

Panorama forgot to mention that the BBC's tabloid style reporting of serious issues led to Hutton. Nowhere in the programme did Panorama draw the obvious conclusions - that Gilligan's report was actually rubbish, that the BBC forced Downing Street to counter the report by naming Kelly, and that Gilligan then ended Kelly's career with an unprofessional email to members of the FASC. Campbell at least had the grace to resign for his misjudgements. I hope that Gilligan et al will have the decency do the same next week.
David, Leicester, UK

Gilligan's only mistake was an accidental claim that the government published material that it knew to be 'wrong' instead of 'questionable'. The mistake was corrected later but it gave the government an opportunity to attack the BBC instead of having to defend this otherwise proven and still very serious allegation. The bullying by the government to avoid having to answer this claim successfully led to the ugly brow beating of the BBC into submission and the apparent suicide of Dr. David Kelly.
Ozorek, Bradford, UK

I praise the BBC's self-criticism of its role in this case, they showed enough honesty and courage. It is time for 10 Downing street to follow suite.
Bahaa Maarouf, Australia - Melbourne

BBC management have shown themselves to be influenced by self-interest rather than the public good Stephen, Wellington, New Zealand

Panorama's "A fight to the Death" looks like a propaganda set piece by BBC management to distance themselves from all concerned, but instead they have scored an own goal. Regardless of the facts or opinions portrayed, the use of sloppy reconstructions with actors that make Blair sympathetic and Gilligan a cowboy are overtly manipulative. Plus the timing of this report is in very bad taste, a cynical American-style pre-emptive strike just before Hutton's report is released. BBC management have shown themselves to be influenced by self-interest rather than the public good.
Stephen, Wellington, New Zealand

The programme showed beyond doubt that Gilligan's Reporting was loose and sloppy, that Dyke failed to ensure a proper investigation and Davies as chair of governors did not sufficiently question the issues. All 3 should be quickly sacked. It is appalling a man has to die, to get the BBC to do such a simple thing properly.
Geoffrey Fielden, Halifax West Yorkshire

Another attempt by the Holier-than-thou BBC to pre-empt the official verdict on their shabby and continuing vendetta against Tony Blair. And what is all this "Impartiality" the BBC keep banging on about? The BBC is many things, but impartial it is most certainly not. You couldn't insert a cigarette paper between their reporting of the Iraq war and Comical Ali's version.
Peter Smith, Bedford, Beds

I was watching the programme and I was glad to understand the events that culminated in the sad demise of Dr. Kelly. It was very vivid and impartial! The reconstructions were very excellent. In my mind, still the very fundamental question of the cause for war remains. It is not that the person or persons who warned of the immediate threat is so important, it is whether it was cooked up or not that matters! How intelligent is the intelligence service after all?
Srinivasan Toft, Humleb�k, Denmark

One wishes we could have more of such broadcasters like the BBC Gabriel Konayuma, Lusaka, Zambia

The programme was well done. It was professional and sought to bring the truth to the surface. One wishes we could have more of such broadcasters like the BBC who are willing to take responsibility where they have gone wrong and are ready to stand for the truth.
Gabriel Konayuma, Lusaka, Zambia

The barefaced dishonesty of our state sector is breathtaking. I still find it difficult to believe that this whole episode came from a "poorly chosen word" by a media person. No one doubts that he was correct, which is a miracle in it's own right. The response of the BBC? Guarantee the government that this sort of thing won't happen again.
Steve, UK

Some of the comments are so naive. Panorama proved that Kelly lied, that Gilligan lied, that the BBC back up Gilligan lies. The government has not yet been proven to have lied. Hutton may prove otherwise. Their HAS to be changes in the BBC for it to keep its reputation for in partial reporting. It appears to a lot of people to have lost the plot and a pressure group mouth piece.
John Karran, Liverpool

This is a perfect example of how the media and those who control it, can manipulate stories and even history.
Gilad, Israel

Kelly's death was another lost life for a lost cause Zorba Eisenhower, UK

As the days, weeks and months go on it becomes more and more obvious that WMD have not existed in Iraq for years (if they ever did). Kelly's death was another lost life for a lost cause. Bush lied to the American people and Bliar has lied to us. Let's get rid of both of them and get our troops out of Iraq before any more lives are lost in this senseless war.
Zorba Eisenhower, UK

I am amazed that the BBC has already been in the hot seat for Gilligan's reports and the fact that the directors allowed it to go relatively unchecked. Now I am more amazed that a nonetheless very good broadcast was made at a very poor time. The time for this was either pre or post Hutton, certainly not during. I feel that the BBC has scored a goal for good journalism here and one against itself for good judgement.
Kevin Maw, Hartlepool

Did the BBC and the British government agree to have an argument about this to distract TV viewers from the real issue - being why the hell are the US and UK in Iraq at all. Who cares if the BBC says the government is dishonest or vice versa. People who base their belief systems on the crap that comes out of both of them deserve everything they get. Wake up people, the BBC are in the business of keeping you sitting in front of the box, and the government are in the business of making you vote for them again.
John Williams, Amsterdam, Netherlands

It is a terrible thing to be EVEN INDIRECTLY responsible for the demise of another. Dr David Kelly may not have been 'worldly wise' enough and was a lamb, victim of the wolves around him. The wolves will have to live with that - but then, they do all the time, don't they?
Frank, Oxford

The government dumped Dr Kelly and now the BBC look to be dumping their own reporter. Loyalty, support, integrity - as far as they are concerned -forget it.
Ron Dyett, Beds., England

What I found astonishing was that so many highly paid public servants spent so much time debating who should say what, to whom, and when. No wonder taxes are rising so rapidly. The fact is that this was an absolute tragedy for Dr Kelly and his family. Everyone should move on and focus on how we are going to help sort out the chaos that we helped the US to make in Iraq
Patrick, Devon

In my opinion, it is largely a clever way of mitigating the impact the report would have on the BBC. Essentially, making the Hutton inquiry findings seem like yesterday's news.
Ronke Adeagbo, London, England

The Panorama special was a pre-emptive strike by the Beeb on the Hutton Report and its critical findings of the Beeb's role in the affair. The BBC through Panorama accepted some of the responsibility at the same time distanced itself from Andrew Gilligan. This stance portrayed the organisation in a favourable light when it is contrasted to the Government position of denial and buck passing. It was a war of monumental egos and their survival in tact. Dr David Kelly did not survive neither did truth or decency.
Ray . Co. Down, Downnpatrick N.Ireland

Dr Kelly was a casualty of his own indiscretion. The BBC did a magnificent job in highlighting the flimsy evidence which led us to war. This government will go down in history as morally bankrupt.
Msmo, London UK

What people fail to realise when they throw their hands up in horror at this affair is that this sort of thing happens all the time in government. You honestly think this was a one-off? The BBC may have been guilty of some sloppy journalism in the first place, but al least it brought to light something approaching the truth, which isn't often what you find in the news.
Katherine, London, UK

It didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. Politicians spin, the media exaggerate and in my view, Dr Kelly was responsible for his own demise.
Ian Marlow, Leeds, UK

All those involved come out of this with very little credibility Deb Rees, Melksham, Wiltshire

I think that all those involved come out of this with very little credibility. It shows quite clearly the appalling standards of behaviour exhibited by those in public life who wield great power and influence. It needs to be remembered that, in my view, a man lost his life due to the behaviour of these people and its time that there was a greater understanding of the human cost involved when these mind boggling power games are played. All involved in this sordid little saga ought to be ashamed of themselves and beyond that ought to be admitting their culpability unconditionally.
Deb Rees, Melksham, Wiltshire

A disagree with those who say the BBC should not have made this programme. It was a very professional investigation into the events surrounding the sad death of Dr. David Kelly. It pulled no punches in being critical of all parties involved. For me though it put into context the sketchy news reports broadcast during the Hutton Inquiry. Exactly the kind of investigative journalism which was lacking at Radio 4 and the sort which no other broadcaster in the UK would be able to do. Another piece of TV history from the BBC.
John Hammond, Leicester, England

This programme brings to a head a serious question for our democracy: are we governed by politicians or "spin doctors". What surprises me most is that any system based on spin, which the Labour government seems to heavily rely on, cannot escape the axiom, "you cannot fool all of the people, all of the time!"
Louis Berk, London, UK

The programme was excellent. It confirmed my view that the sad death of Dr Kelly and the spat between the government and the BBC are distractions. The real issue is were there good grounds for war and was the PM honest about them. In the absence of an enquiry, the programme strengthened my belief that the government wanted to go to war so badly, but had a weak case for it, that it preferred to be economical with the truth, rather than leave MPs to make up their own minds.
Adam, Oxfordshire

In my opinion Panorama was an obvious attempt by the BBC to be looked on less harshly when the Hutton report is released. I am fed up with the BBC's blatant witch hunt for Tony Blair. I am well aware that the Government exaggerated the need to go to war but am still unable to comprehend the opinion that we should have left such an evil dictator as Saddam in power. There is, and only ever will be, one person who knows why Kelly killed himself and that is himself. Although I am saddened by his death and many people made mistakes in the way he was treated, he is the only one that can be held responsible for the choices he made.
Leah, Barry, S. Wales

A fair and factual account I feel - Excellent of the BBC to be so honest of its own failings. However I believe little can be gained by showing this now; a post Hutton show taking his judgement into account would have been better as, at the end of the day, his verdict is the only one that matters to all concerned. If it did do one thing though it helped to show Dr Kelly was not innocent in this whole affair.
Andrew Morrow, Leighton Buzzard, UK

The programme was little more than a concise summary of what happened during the inquiry last summer. A rather boring piece of repeated history.
Helen, UK

What was the need for this programme before the Hutton Report being made public?
Dr Hitesh Kothari, Liverpool UK

This programme smacks of yet another attempt by a handful of journalists to have the first word on a controversial and complex story Tom Reeve, London

I didn't watch Panorama, preferring instead to wait for the authoritative report to be published. Although some applaud it for its brave and fearless examination of the BBC, this programme smacks of yet another attempt by a handful of journalists to have the first word on a controversial and complex story. All it proves is that the media - and BBC producers in particular - still haven't learned the essential lessons from the Dr Kelly tragedy.
Tom Reeve, London, UK

God help Tony Blair, god help Iraq and God rest David Kelly. An unmitigated catalogue of disaster. We all have blood on our hands.
Adam, London

We should start to think of the bigger picture, rather than blaming the individuals themselves Lucinda, London

My impression from all of this is that the daily jobs of certain people have been put in the spotlight, by the public, because of a person's death. The BBC must have to make judgement calls like this every day and Alistair Campbell's job is to spin. Had Kelly not died, none of this would have come out. It seems that the public have discovered that with the new levels of transparency, mistakes do happen within systems. This is human! We are not all perfect. I think that we should stop blaming people for doing their jobs in exactly the same way as the person before them has done and we should start to think of the bigger picture, rather than blaming the individuals themselves.
Lucinda, London, UK

Around the country people are asking "Will he resign?" I too want to know what will happen when the Hutton Report is published - will Greg Dyke resign?
Ben Turner, London, UK

Well done, Panorama, for doing Campbell's bidding in his campaign against the BBC. For one BBC messenger to shoot another is startling. Of course the government sexed up the case for war. That's the point, isn't it?
Jim Percy, London

When all is said and done what we are left with is the pathetic the image of two venerable organisations, the government and the BBC, engaged in a testosterone - fuelled playground game of chicken neither realising that caught in the middle was a human being. All involved in this pre-pubescent behaviour should be thoroughly ashamed.
Martin, Gateshead

This programme proves the BBC is a corrupt and incompetent news gathering organisation intent only on trying to protect its own flawed reputation. The Panorama production team should be put in charge of the BBC. At least then we would some honesty and integrity.
Maria, Dorset, UK

We praise the surgeon who gets it right, not the coroner who does an excellent autopsy after a botched surgery Scott Hames, Aberdeen

The program was admirably frank and even-handed, but to now praise the BBC for its impartiality in reporting this affair seems to me sick. The time for such good work was in July, not now. We praise the surgeon who gets it right, not the coroner who does an excellent autopsy after a botched surgery.
Scott Hames, Aberdeen

I didn't see the programme, but judging by the strangely familiar polarised views here how curious that it seems to have added nothing to the debate. And, how curious that it was not shown in Panorama's new timeslot. I wonder what time next week's edition will be shown?
Steve, UK

Well done BBC at being able to say that YES, we got things wrong. I think we will all wait with interest at Lord Hutton's comments, and lets hope that the Government, if found to have been wrong in any part, might say sorry, but then again, this is real life, and sorry does not create a good image !
Scott Reeves, Antwerp, Belgium

Unbiased? The rivalry - let's call it that - between Panorama and the Today Programme rather undermines the whole debate. Personally, I root for the Today programme.
Tim Smith, Limehouse, UK

I thought that last nights programme was just another publicity stunt and it was aimed to get the public to support the BBC. However I feel strongly that the public overall should decide who was to blame and not the BBC.
Jermaine, Paignton , Devon

With the millions of pounds spent on this inquiry we could have saved millions of people's lives in many third world countries. Maybe the BBC could do a programme about the despicable huge sums of money that have been spent on an inquiry that will unlikely reach a satisfying conclusion no matter how long it goes on for.
Richard, Cambridge, UK

Informative programme. Although not a fan of all that reconstruction stuff it seemed to work well here. With no 'WMD' yet found it would seem that the Intelligence Services are fools, the Government are knaves and the BBC is worth the licence fee.
Ray Kehoe, London

A timely redemption of the BBC's public broadcasting credentials.
Howard Turner, Grange over Sands

That was a damage limitation exercise Tim H, UK

That was a damage limitation exercise using the very popular 'Well, we are both at fault; let's both share the blame,' get out clause. It is almost as bad as the classic conclusion 'it was all down to a lack of communication.' The BBC concedes that it was at fault by not bothering to investigate Gilligan's claims. But then it tries to distract attention by making such as issue out of who said what to who, on leaking David Kelly's name.

Frankly, it does not matter one iota who authorised the leaking process etc. The BBC had plenty of opportunities to put its hands up. It could have easily blamed Gilligan, and none of us would have thought lesser of the BBC. The irony is that it all stemmed from desire to keep up appearances, i.e. the BBC wont be told by the Government what to say. This is a good lesson as to why pride and vanity are two of the seven deadly sins.
Tim H, UK

Nothing surprises me. Tony Blair has demonstrated time and time again that he will ignore the voices of those around him, from the experts to the electorate. Only his resignation can restore faith in the parliamentary and decision-making process.
Richard Killick, London

Brilliant program - just like the old Panorama - shown at the best time for all viewers. This is the best of BBC and recovers some of the ground lost by Gilligan, Dyke and Davies. Sack this lot and put the Panorama team in their places.
Allan Ledwith, Essex

Is this a further attempt by the BBC to deflect attention away from itself, pre-empting criticism by Hutton?
Roger, Whitwick, England

Let's keep some perspective Geoffrey Parkes, Bath, UK

We probably all agree that both parties, the BBC and Tony Blair's administration, made mistakes and come out badly from this affair. However, let's keep some perspective. The consequences of the BBC's actions can be argued to be poor journalism. The consequences of the Government's actions are a war on a false pretext, and the death of Dr Kelly.
Geoffrey Parkes, Bath, UK

One could argue that this is an admirable attempt on the part of the BBC to assert the independence of its journalism. Equally you could contest that the programme was little more than a rehash of the facts already in the public domain. A ten second snippet of unseen interview footage of the unfortunate Dr Kelly does little to change this.
Jake Thomson, Sheffield

It is quite clear, if one is to trust the Panorama programme, that as usual no single individual is responsible for the death of Dr Kelly. It is equally clear that the government made the threat of Iraq seem far greater than it was. In the short term, the world is rid of a terrible dictator, in the long term the world has lost its faith in its democratically elected leaders. It is a very high price to pay for a very small gain.
George Holmer, Leuven, Belgium

It appears that Dr Kelly was expected to take responsibility for his actions by his political masters. Yet they will use every possible way to avoid responsibility, including the absurd abuse of the English language. Let us hope Hutton brings some honesty back. However I suspect that like Blair and Hoon, as lawyers, he will carefully avoid allocating blame.
John Young, London, UK

There were grave mistakes made by both institutions Mark, London

It is very clear to me that there were grave mistakes made by both institutions, neither of which would back down and lose face - both organisations need to learn from this or the trust placed in both by the public will be damaged further.
Mark, London

Panorama's report on the events leading up to the tragic death of Dr Kelly was useful in quantifying an esoteric episode in British history. I suspect that no one side will be blamed entirely by Lord Hutton and instead both the BBC and the government will be admonished. Yet the BBC did not take this country to war and several questions remain unanswered by the government. Why did the UK participate in a pre-emptive war? Was the real reason WMD or, as several luminaries in the US administration are now indicating, a desire to topple Saddam? And will the war actually reduce the possibility of future terrorist attacks? I suspect, as Menzies Campbell has indicated, that a full judicial inquiry will be needed in order to reach some definite answers to these questions.
Craig McLean, Gateshead, UK

First, good for the BBC and Panorama; it took courage to produce a programme which attacked the BBC's handling of Dr Kelly. Second, there was clear intelligence that Iraq had WMD so given that post-war Iraq has produced no evidence our intelligence gathering needs serious review. Third, let's wait for the Hutton report!
Steve Palmer, Watford, UK

I think the BBC showed itself to be foolish yet again. With only a week to the Hutton report programmes like this should appear after the judgment. If the Hutton report shows anything to the contrary the BBC will have been made to look stupid and irresponsible. The BBC, like much of the media should learn the quality of patience, and put it into practice
Bill Potter, England

Sloppy journalism such as Gilligan's is bad enough, but sloppiness in Government, in such dangerous times, is unforgivable.
Craig Kenny, Brighton, UK

It's the Hutton report that matters, not a programme with a ratings-chasing agenda.
Stephen, Surrey

EVERYONE knew that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Even the United Nations was sure. Now, at this time when no definite proof can be found the liberal fools use it as a political football to attack their opposition instead of cooperating to correct whatever may have gone wrong.
Adolph Vanderwoude, Oceanview, NJ, USA

I thought this programme was fair and factual, but having said that it is now difficult to know quite where the truth in all this lies with so many obvious fabrications having been made up by both the government and the BBC. I only hope that Lord Hutton will be robust in his report and that heads will roll high up in both organisations for an affair which has brought shame to our country and caused the death of an innocent man.
Tim Arthur, Tunbridge Wells, Kent

I think Dr. Kelly along with the leadership in the US and Great Britain genuinely thought that Iraq posed a grave threat. In no way did Iraq cooperate to allow a fair appraisal of the threat via inspections. With such conditions, I have no qualms about the war, even if it turns out the threat was not as grave as was thought. As someone, who is left of centre in America, I would like to express my support and admiration for Prime Minister Tony Blair. He is terribly unappreciated by the British people.
Manish Joseph, New York, USA

I think this Panorama programme is simply a PR stunt and adds little to what is already in the public domain. Since the report will be out next week one wonders why BBC is bending our ears and boring us rigid with this kindergarten rehearsal of the Hutton Inquiry. 'Allow the judge do the judging' please.
Chidozie Onovo, Nigeria

Even though the BBC is at fault here, I believe that Dr Kelly has been thrown to the wolves by a government obsessed with it's public image. If anyone is at fault it lies firmly at the feet of Tony Blair.
Richard Parker-Jeffery, Gravesend, Kent

Nobody comes out of this sorry affair with any credit David Looser, Ipswich

A fascinating programme which showed just how flawed decision making in high places can be. Nobody comes out of this sorry affair with any credit. The reputations of government, the BBC, the intelligence community and even Dr Kelly himself have been undermined by the revelations of the Hutton Inquiry.
David Looser, Ipswich

As much as I respect much of what the BBC does, should the corporation be its own judge with such a programme?
Pete Run, Sheffield

It is refreshing that the BBC can be so honest about itself.
Jack Marriott, England

Thank you for an excellent Panorama. I look forward to hearing the wisdom of Lord Hutton.
Desmond Armstrong, London, UK

An excellent programme! Thank you! When is it going to be repeated? After channel four's recent programme on the Iraq war, it does all begin to feel as if a massive jigsaw is gradually being put together. What a tragic waste of Dr. Kelly's life.
Hilary Forbes, Chelmsley Wood, Birmingham