APPARENTLY today is D-Day for Tony Blair as he gives evidence before Lord Hutton's Committee into the David Kelly affair.That introductory paragraph has probably lost me about 60 per cent of my readers.

APPARENTLY today is D-Day for Tony Blair as he gives evidence before Lord Hutton's Committee into the David Kelly affair.

That introductory paragraph has probably lost me about 60 per cent of my readers. Has there ever been a more boring subject than this for the general public?

Because it involves so much of the national media they're all picking over every bone.

The whole business was a personal tragedy for Dr Kelly and his family – but for those outside the political elite does any of this really matter?

I know die-hard supporters of other political parties will probably disagree – seeing this as a chance to damage the Labour Party.

But to the average apolitical man and woman in the street, dissecting who said what to whom and who put what spin on it in the run up to the war is a massive yawn.

What's far more important is the fact that Saddam Hussein isn't in power any more – but that British and American troops, and UN personnel, are getting killed by terrorists in Iraq.

If the politicians and senior officials in this country devoted half as much thought and energy into dealing with the problems that exist in Iraq now as they did with analysing the run-up to the war, I can't help feeling that things would be a lot better.

As it is, it looks as if the service personnel sent out there are just being left to do what they can with no leadership from their political masters in Whitehall who are too busy in their own bout of nit-picking.

It's about time everyone spent less time trying to work out why one man committed suicide and spent more trying to work out how to prevent dozens more being killed in Iraq.

CONGRATULATIONS are due to Suffolk County Council for finally waking up to the fact that Sundays are a day when families want to do things together like visiting the local library.

Now the message has got through County Hall maybe some of the twin-track councillors who also have seats at Civic Centre will tell their bosses about this revelation.

It's about time the borough recognised that its leisure facilities like the museum and Christchurch Mansion should also be open on Sundays.

Before I get deluged with letters from the borough, yes I know the doors of the mansion are open for a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon (less in the winter) but that's really quite pathetic.

Sundays – especially outside high summer – is when these places could really attract visitors by taking a pro-active role like that being employed in the county's libraries.

But what happens? The doors are kept shut – or grudgingly opened for a couple of hours so people can rush around.

The old-fashioned idea of everyone sitting around having a big Sunday lunch lasting well into the late afternoon really is a myth in the 21st century (if it ever existed in the first place).

So well done, Suffolk, for recognising this. Over to you, Ipswich!

FINALLY, it's good to see local government minister Nick Raynsford in Ipswich today.

I hope he's taken the trouble to read the Star to realise just what problems there are with local government in this area and starts to look at how Whitehall can help us out.