LORD Cullen of Whitekirk, who chaired public inquiries into the Dunblane massacre and the Piper Alpha oil platform disaster is to give evidence to a House of Lords investigation on the effectiveness of such hearings.

The 77-year-old peer, a former Lord Justice General and Lord President of the Court of Session, will give evidence alongside fellow Scottish peer Lord Gill, who currently holds those offices.

Lord Gill, 71, chaired the ICL Inquiry into the 2004 industrial explosion in Glasgow in which nine people died. In the first investigation of its kind into the 2005 Inquiries Act, they will be asked views on how inquiries implemented under it compare to those conducted prior to the legislation.

Tomorrow's session will also hear from Sir Robert Francis QC, who conducted two inquiries into Stafford Hospital, Sir Ian Kennedy, who led the inquiry into baby deaths at the Bristol Royal Infirmary, and Lord Bichard, who conducted the inquiry into the Soham murders. They will be asked if they believe non-statutory inquiries wield sufficient powers compared to statutory ones. The range of questions will also cover the criteria ministers should apply in deciding if a judge should chair an inquiry, how the appointment process could be improved and any changes that might shorten the hearing and lessen the expense involved.

The committee into the 2005 Act, chaired by Liberal Democrat peer Lord Shutt of Greetland, is due to report its findings by March.