With all due respect Rev., Francis Hitching is a TV script writer. He has no formal scientific training. On page 12 of his book (p 4 in paperback) he even stated "evolution of life over long periods of time is a fact". He questions the mechanism of gradual Darwinian change. His book (Neck of the Giraffe) was also published back in the early 1980's, when scientists were questioning whether evolution is always slow and gradual, but now it is generally accepted that the rates of evolution can vary.
Hitching has made claims that he is endorsed by Richard Dawkins and the late Stephan J Gould from Harvard, but neither is true. He also claimed in his book to be a member of the Royal Archaeological Institute and this is also false.