The man who sparked fury by comparing the late British Iraq weapons expert Dr David Kelly to the fictional daydreamer Walter Mitty is due to testify today at the inquiry into his death.
Mr Tom Kelly will speak at the Hutton inquiry to give his version of events leading up to Dr David Kelly's suicide. No relation to the dead scientist, Mr Tom Kelly is one of British Prime Minister Tony Blair's official spokesmen.
He is expected to take the stand in the High Court in London this afternoon following evidence from Mr Godric Smith - another of Mr Blair's official spokesmen - and senior Ministry of Defence official Mr Kevin Tebbit.
Mr Tom Kelly caused outrage earlier this month when he compared Dr David Kelly, a respected government weapons inspector who made dozens of trips to Iraq, to Mitty, the fictional fantasist created by American author James Thurber.
The comparison, made on the eve of Dr David Kelly's funeral, was seen as some as an attempt by the government to smear the dead scientist's name.
Thurber's Mitty is a hen-pecked man of modest means and talents who persistently daydreams about a much more exciting and glamorous life than his own.
Mr Tom Kelly quickly apologised for his comments, made in an off-the-record briefing to reporters, and Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott also said sorry, writing to the scientist's widow regretting the "unsubstantiated remarks about Dr Kelly".
Mr Tebbit's testimony will also be closely followed as he tried, without success, to persuade Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon to shield Dr Kelly from the public spotlight.
Mr Kelly, Mr Tebbit and Mr Smith will speak before an inquiry which has already shed new light both on the events leading to Dr Kelly's suicide and the case the government made to justify its decision to go to war in Iraq.
Yesterday, Mr Blair's top aide Mr Alastair Campbell rejected allegations he had hyped the case for war, saying that - on the contrary - he had urged intelligence chiefs to cut the rhetoric from a key dossier on Baghdad's weapons.
Mr Campbell said he had "no input, output (or) influence" on the dossier at any stage, despite accusations by a BBC reporter that the hype was all his.
"I said: 'The drier the better, cut the rhetoric,'" Mr Campbell said. "There were areas where the language was too colourful. I also said the more intelligence-based it was, the better."
Mr Blair used the dossier to justify his case for defying public opinion to join the US-led invasion of Iraq.
Widespread suspicion among voters that the danger from Iraq's banned weapons was exaggerated has hit Blair's popularity and provoked the most serious crisis of his six-year rule.
Mr Blair is due to testify at the inquiry at a later date.