The story of the Covid inquiry is becoming clear. The plot has a useless clown called Boris Johnson who gains access to Downing Street with his chums, ignores scientists and lets thousands die. A foul-mouthed mob of beta-politicians and officials fight tooth and nail against a star villain, Dominic Cummings. There is a background chorus of a delighted media and weeping victims. It is all yours for three years and staggering amounts of public money.
Covid now joins Post Office computers, poisoned blood, Grenfell cladding and other topics enriching the new monitors of Britain’s public sector: lawyers. The cost is enormous as lawyers get paid on the nail – while any victims must wait to the end. The Covid inquiry has already somehow spent £100m and its costs are expected to balloon to over £200m by 2026. Half a million pounds is going on public relations consultants alone. This is indefensible and is crippling the legal budget, where the average court delay in criminal cases has stretched to a record 50 weeks.
