Quis Inquirit Inquisitores?

‘IT turns out that sending a man from London to Glasgow by rail is cheap in comparison with holding a public inquiry into events that happened more than 30 years ago.

A Saville row

Officials projections put the cost of the Bloody Sunday inquiry (now in its sixth year) at £155m, with one lawyer estimating that it could rise to £250m before it is done.

At the end of it, we would want to know not just who shot the 14 civilians killed on a civil rights march in Derry in 1972, but what each had for breakfast every day for the previous 12 months.

If not, we at Anorak will leading calls for a full – and public – inquiry into why so much time and money have been spent.

However, even before it’s finished, the Bloody Sunday inquiry is already, according to the Guardian, being seen as a template for how not to hold a public inquiry.

Allan Levy QC, who chaired the pin-down inquiry into the unlawful solitary confinement of children in care, described it as ‘a fiasco of epic proportions’.

And Sir Louis Blom-Cooper, veteran of 12 inquiries, said the Government could limit the time and cost of any inquiry by setting specific parameters, such as a date on which to report.

However, it is in the Government’s interests that certain inquiries – like Jarndyce v Jarndyce – should run indefinitely.

After all, if the Tories get their wish for a full public inquiry into the chaos that is Britain’s immigration system, don’t expect a quick verdict.

With any luck, the scions of most of today’s first-generation immigrants will by then have risen to become, say, leader of the Tory party.’

Posted: 2nd, April 2004 | In: Broadsheets Comment | TrackBack | Permalink