LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown will give evidence to a public inquiry into the Iraq War in early March, officials for the probe said on Tuesday.
A ballot will be held to allocate the seats at the hearing at a conference centre opposite Parliament in central London because of likely high demand for places.
Brown's appearance, just weeks before an election expected in May, could hit the ruling Labour party's efforts to catch up in polls behind the Conservatives.
Brown, who will be questioned about his time as chancellor and prime minister, will be the most high profile witness at the inquiry since former Prime Minister Tony Blair's appearance last month.
The war, launched in 2003, sapped support for Blair and Labour and continues to provoke public anger almost three years after Blair handed over to Brown.
A third of the 60 seats in the hearing room will be reserved for families of British soldiers or civilians who died or are missing in Iraq.
"The specific date for Mr Brown's session will be announced soon, but to help people decide whether they wish to take part in the ballot the inquiry has confirmed that it will be in early March," the officials said.
Brown had previously been expected to appear in late February or early March.
The inquiry, led by former civil servant John Chilcot, had said it would not call Brown ahead of the election, which must be held by June, to avoid its hearings becoming caught up in party politics.
But Brown wrote to Chilcot last month saying he was ready to give evidence at any time, after opposition parties challenged him to appear to answer questions about his role while finance minister ahead of the U.S-led invasion.
Brown set up the Iraq inquiry last year to learn lessons from the conflict following the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq.
Blair, who sent 45,000 British troops to the war, told the inquiry he had no regrets about the invasion, saying Saddam Hussein was a threat to the world who had to be disarmed or removed.
(Reporting by Tim Castle; editing by Keith Weir)
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