With the timing of a skilled conjurer, he has produced a deck of hitherto undisclosed official documents that give a tanatalising insight into how the September weapons dossier, the justification for the invasion, was constructed, and the level of friction and disquiet it created.
The inquiry was shown successive drafts of the now notorious September dossier, something the MPs in the Foreign Affairs Committee had asked for from the Government and been refused.
Mr Dingemans asked Mr Howard why the drafts were not made public? Why were they not given to the Foreign Affairs Committee? As Mr Howard squirmed, the QC took him through the various stages of the document as the Government desperately tried to prove Saddam Hussein could launch a chemical and biological attack within 45 minutes.
The final version, asked Mr Dingemans "Is noticeably harder. Is that fair, hmm?"
Mr Howard had to reply " I think that is fair, yes".
It is in this context, of a Government buffeted by rising claims of deception, and simmering discontent in the intelligence and civil service, that one can see why finding BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan's "mole" on the "sexed-up" dossier story became an obsession reaching the very top of the political establishment.
Tony Blair, and Geoff Hoon, the Secretary of State for Defence, John Scarlett, the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, Alastair Campbell, Mr Blair's communications chief, Sir David Omand, the security co-ordinator at Downing Street, Sir Kevin Tebbit, the most senior civil servant at the MoD, Mr Howard, the deputy chief of defence intelligence.
They were all apparently exercised by the thought of nailing one civil servant who had not committed treason, or any crime, but merely questioned a questionable Government claim.
Mr Blair wanted the intelligence services to escalate their investigation of Dr Kelly. Mr Hoon ignored Sir Kevin's advice and threw Dr Kelly to public questioning by the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Mr Scarlett wanted to give him a "security-style" interrogation. Sir Kevin did try to save the scientist from the publicity of the FAC but agreed to the demand for further grilling, when Dr Kelly had been assured the matter had been closed after one meeting and a reprimand. Mr Howard said that he was merely following orders to carry out a second interview with Dr Kelly.
And of course, sucked into this atmosphere of paranoia and suspicion was David Kelly. Encouraged by the Government to talk to the media about WMDs as long as he sang from the same hymn sheet, and then pitilessly cast aside and hounded when he told the journalists of his qualms about the dossier.
One of the more memorable experiences in the hearing has been the parade of civil servants who appeared in the witness box to praise their dead colleague when evidence showed they were not supported him during the last weeks of his life.
There was Patrick Lamb, deputy head of counter proliferation at the Foreign Office, who told Lord Hutton, he had offered sympathy to Dr Kelly over his predicament, and anxiously inquired whether his pension rights would be unaffected. Yet it was the same Mr Lamb who had, in effect, "shopped" the scientist as Mr Gilligan's source to Mr Howard at a drinks reception at MI5 HQ.
Then there was Bryan Wells, Dr Kelly's line manager. He told the inquiry his main thought was "what was best for David". Yet in the two grillings Dr Kelly received at the MoD, Mr Wells had not uttered a word in his support. "I was taking notes", he said. "But you could speak couldn't you?", asked Mr Dingemans caustically.
Then there was Richard Hatfield, director of personnel at the MoD, who had reprimanded Dr Kelly for his meeting with Mr Gilligan. It was unauthorised, he kept saying, Dr Kelly should have read the rules. Yet, documents produced by Mr Dingemans showed Mr Hatfield's department knew about, and encouraged, the scientist's contact with the media. T
here are, of course, two sides to this story - the Government and the BBC, Andrew Gilligan and Alastair Campbell. That, at least, is the way the inquiry has come across. It would be in the interests of Downing Street to maintain that line. The corporation would much rather see the tribunal turn into an examination of the Government's justification for war.
Mr Gilligan had the longest time in the witness box and the most hostile questioning. He has, however, had some practice in coping with this after his two bruising sessions with the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Mr Gilligan, who has lost a stone-and-half in the past few weeks, thanks, he says, to the "Campbell Diet" stood by his claim that Dr Kelly had told him that Mr Campbell had been responsible for the "transformation" of the September dossier the week before publication. In fact, he even went further, maintaining that included the insertion of the "45 minutes" threat.
The Radio 4 defence and diplomatic correspondent also claimed, for the first time, that he had agreed with Dr Kelly upon quotes that could be used for his news reports, and had, indeed, left out certain matters at the scientist's request.
However, Mr Gilligan had to admit to the inquiry he should not have said in his first early morning broadcast that Downing Street had the "45 minutes" claim put in knowing it was "probably wrong".
He acknowledged Dr Kelly had told him the single source for the claim was "unreliable", but that did not necessarily mean the Government knew it was wrong.
Mr Gilligan repeatedly protested he had made that mistake only once, in an unscripted "two-way" at 6am and not subsequently repeated. But Mr Campbell's newspaper allies were cock-a-hoop. Their joy was increased when Mr Dingemans produced a BBC internal memo in which the editor of the Today programme, had complained of Mr Gilligan's broadcast "This story was a good piece of journalism marred by flawed reporting. Our biggest millstone has been his loose use of language and lack of judgement".
But there was huge consternation, when, right at the close of proceedings, Susan Watts, the science editor of Newsnight, told the tribunal that Dr Kelly had told her about Mr Campbell's involvement in the September dossier a full two weeks before making the same allegation to Mr Gilligan.
She had failed to act on it because she considered it a "gossipy aside".
But the inquiry has been nothing if not full of surprising twists. The next morning, Ms Watts vehemently declared her information was not the same as Mr Gilligan's.
And indeed that was the case: Dr Kelly had told her much more than he told Mr Gilligan about Mr Campbell's role in the dossier. He was to say even more in a second conversation.
Ms Watts managed to miss out most of this in broadcasts she made. She appeared to be rather aggrieved her version did not get as much as publicity or led to any Government complaint, unlike Mr Gilligan's.
But she certainly had one trick up her sleeve. Accompanied by a solicitor (paid for by the BBC) she castigated her employers for putting a lot of pressure on her to support the BBC in its battle with Downing Street.
A third BBC journalist, Gavin Hewitt, a special correspondent on the the Ten O'Clock News, also gave evidence that Dr Kelly had spoken of "No 10 spin coming into play". The story of friction inside the BBC was good news for Downing Street - but that changed again with the revelation of Mr Blair's and Mr Hoon's intervention in the Kelly investigation. The focus will remain on the Government as officials including Mr Campbell give evidence.
What of the man whose death this inquiry is all about ?
It has now been stated at the hearing that he misled the Foreign Affairs Committee about his contacts with Ms Watts, and Mr Hewitt, and indeed, his own superiors in the MoD about the extent of his role in the Gilligan story.
Although we now have a clearer idea of the stress he was under in his final weeks, we still don't know precisely why Dr Kelly took his life. But the death of the scientist has given Britain a rare glimpse of the inner workings of government and the intelligence services.
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INDEPENDENT
Hutton inquiry website
British Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee transcript:
Evidence of Dr David Kelly
Key players in the 'sexed-up dossier' affair
Herald Feature: Iraq
Iraq links and resources
