Auditor-General Shauket Fakie should be called to account only if something "substantially new" emerges on his arms report, says Public Accounts committee chairman and African National Congress member Vincent Smith.

He was commenting on Wednesday on media reports that newly-released documents show substantive differences between drafts and the final version of Fakie's report on the multi-billion rand deal.

The Democratic Alliance has called for a judicial commission of inquiry, and has also demanded that Fakie be summoned to Parliament to explain.

Smith said the position of the African National Congress is that it is indisputable that the A-G is accountable to Parliament. But, on the arms report, he said: "Until and unless there is something that is substantially new, really there's no need for the A-G to come and account to Parliament."

At present he does not think there is any need for the A-G to appear, because nothing new has been presented to the committee "other than what's been in the newspaper".

He said he would be interested in seeing the documents - which Fakie handed over to defence contractor Richard Young after losing a court battle to keep them secret - but he has not applied his mind to the matter.

The issue of accessing the documents is "certainly something we will look at" when Parliament resumes after its break.

Young told Sapa last week that the draft report shows that the final version - which concluded there were no grounds to suggest the government's contracting position was flawed - had excluded "absolutely fundamental and material findings" by investigators.

Among the changes was the removal of findings that there were "fundamental flaws" in the selection of BAE and Saab as suppliers of jet trainer and fighter aircraft.

The final report did not contain a record of objections from senior defence force members to buying more jet aircraft.

It also excluded a finding that the late defence minister Joe Modise personally influenced the decision to opt for the more costly Hawk trainer rather than an Italian jet favoured by the SA Air Force.

Fakie maintains that due process was followed in the compilation of the final version, and stands by the report's contents.

With acknowledgements to Sapa and The Natal Witness.