Government racks up £100m bill responding to Covid inquiry

The public inquiry into the Covid pandemic has cost the government more than £100million so far, the BBC has learned. This is on top of the £192m spent on the inquiry itself, meaning the cost to the taxpayer is more than 50% higher than previously thought.

The government’s spending covers legal advice and staff costs – at last count a team of 248 people were working across key departments to produce evidence for the inquiry.

The inquiry’s sources questioned this approach, saying the government has at times been “hostile and difficult”, blocking the release of information and delivering documents late.

But the Cabinet Office said it was determined to carry out the investigation and learn lessons for the future.

However, the TaxPayers’ Alliance called it a waste of money and Covid-19 charity Bereaved Families for Justice UK said while the work being done was vital, public inquiries generally needed to become more effective and less adversarial.

The scale and cost of the Covid investigation has already been questioned by some.

It began in 2022 and its final report is not expected until 2027. It has already cost £192 million – a figure expected to exceed £200 million by the time it is completed, making it one of the most expensive public inquiries in history.

In total there are 10 separate surveys – or modules as they are called. So far, only two studies, focusing on pandemic preparedness and government decision-making, have been completed.

But the BBC’s analysis of Cabinet Office documents found that departments spent around £101 million between April 2023 and June 2025.

The bulk of this sum is believed to have been accumulated by five key departments – the Cabinet Office, the Home Office, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Treasury and the UK Health Security Agency, which have been repeatedly asked to provide evidence.

Cost estimates do not include the time officials spend preparing and appearing as witnesses in person.

More than half of the £101m spent was on legal costs, including the use of external lawyers.

An investigative source said that to some extent the spending reflected the government’s defensive attitude towards the investigation.

Inquiry chair Baroness Hallett and the inquiry’s legal team have criticized departments for delays in providing documents and blocking the release of key information.

This came to a head in 2023, when the inquiry and the government landed in the High Court over the government’s refusal to release Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages, diaries and notebooks. The government lost the case.

Sources said the government had mounted a “huge operation” which had at times appeared “hostile and difficult” to the investigation.

A Cabinet Office spokeswoman said: “The Government is fully committed to supporting the work of the inquiry and learning lessons from the pandemic to ensure the UK is better prepared for a future pandemic. »

The Cabinet Office says the lawsuit was brought to clarify a point of principle: the right to investigate to request information the provider considers irrelevant.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the think tank TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “It’s an absolute disgrace that ministers have spent an extra £100m on top of what the inquiry itself has already spent.

“These new figures show that the total cost to taxpayers will be much higher than previously feared.

“Ministers must urgently get a handle on the rising costs of the Covid investigation and commit to providing rapid and effective responses.”

A spokesperson for Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK said the inquiry’s work was “vital” and any costs would be recouped many times over in the future if lessons were learned in reducing the economic impact of the next pandemic as well as saving lives.

But he added: “The investigation process is far from perfect.”

He said the group supported the Hillsborough Act, which is being passed through Parliament and strengthens the legal duty of public authorities to assist in public inquiries.

He said public inquiries like Covid needed to become more effective and less contradictory.

“Only in this way can we reduce the cost of future investigations while protecting access to justice.”

A spokesperson for the Covid inquiry said: “The inquiry is unlike any previous public inquiry. It is very broad in scope as it investigates multiple aspects of a pandemic which has affected everyone in society.”

He said the president had made it clear from the start that this would take time and involve significant costs, but would result in recommendations designed to better protect the UK when the next pandemic hits.

He said the inquiry would not comment on the nature of the relationship with the government.