Defence lawyers for the Covid-19 public inquiry are set to cost government departments £35.5 million, the Mirror has reported. The inquiry itself, to be chaired by Baroness Hallett, a retired English judge of the Court of Appeal and a crossbench life peer, will spend under a third of that total on legal services, as the truth behind the UK's response to the Coronavirus pandemic is uncovered.
The second phase of the inquiry began last week, considering the impact of "political and administrative" decision-making, making it a particularly consequential portion of the proceedings for the government. Alongside demanding evidence from most government departments, the inquiry's lawyers said they had asked for “records of written and oral advice to ministers and details of internal communications including a WhatsApp group, which included the Prime Minister, Number 10 and other senior officials.”
In total the Cabinet Office, which includes the Prime Minister, spent the most on defence, with law firm Pinsent Masons making a tasty total with a £7 million contract. The Business department is not far behind as it rakes out the funds for two contracts with TLT, one costing £6million, with the other for £600,000 to cover the Government Office for Science, including the SAGE scientific advisory body.
The Department of Education looks set to budget £5million on a contract with DWF, the Environmental department's deal with DAC Beachcroft will cost £4.5million, the Department of Health and Social Care have two contracts collectively worth £3,831,000 and the Foreign Office's contract with DLA Piper is worth £3.8million.
Matt Fowler, who co-founded the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice said: “These stats are alarming, and show just what a huge challenge Baroness Hallett and her team have if they want to get to the truth about what happened during the pandemic and learn the lessons that will save lives in the future. Those that suffered during the pandemic are never going to have the same resources as those in power. This is why it’s so critical that Baroness Hallett levels the playing field in the inquiry by ensuring that bereaved families are listened to directly and uses our stories to inform which evidence is looked for and how it’s considered.”
Sharp Pritchard's contract with the Department of Transport is worth £1million, while the Ministry of Justice's spending of £250,000 on a deal with Addleshaws Goddard looks contextually small. The government could have opted to go solely with their own lawyers in the Government Legal Department (GLD), but instead have additionally brought in extra legal support to represent them in the consequential inquiry, which could only add further instability were it to not result favourably.
The inquiry meanwhile has a single legal contract with Burges Salmon valued at just £9.8million.
A spokesperson for the Government Legal Department said: “The Covid-19 Inquiry is unprecedented in the breadth of its remit and the Government is committed to supporting it. To do that, legal support is being provided to individual departments from approved internal and external sources. All appointments represent value for money and ensure that the Inquiry can fulfil its remit.”
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