05 Jun Conflict between ministers and Covid inquiry judge is ‘very sad’, says Lord Robin Butler
CONFLICT between the Government and the head of the official inquiry into its Covid-19 response is “very sad”, according to a former Cabinet Secretary.
Lord Robin Butler told GB News: “I don’t think it’s trial by WhatsApp at all and I think it’s very sad this antagonistic position was developed between the Government and the judge who is carrying out this inquiry, because this is a very important inquiry.
“It’s in all our interests, but the lessons of the last pandemic should be learned. And really that ought to be done by cooperation between the investigator and the government and not this antagonism.
“And it’s a great shame that the Government is feels itself forced to oppose this by taking legal action. And that isn’t in the interests of either side.”
In a discussion with Mark Longhurst during GB News Live, he continued: “There might be a stay of the judicial review and both sides can discuss it, because I think there must be a reasonable outcome.
“If Lady Hallett will define very clearly what it is she wants, she could rely on the heads of the departments to produce the relevant materials. The other problem is if she’s sent a request so broadly that she’s in danger of being swamped with material and not being able to find what she really wants.”
“Some means has got to be found for sorting the wheat from the chaff.”
Asked what he would do if he was in charge of the Covid inquiry, Lord Butler added: “Whichever side I was on, the inquiry or the Government, I’d been wanting to do it by cooperation not by antagonism.”
