Government spends £100m responding to Covid inquiry
The UK government has spent more than £100 million so far to respond to the Covid inquiry, the BBC has found. This is in addition to the £192 million the inquiry itself has already spent. This means the total cost to taxpayers is over 50% higher than people previously thought.
The government’s spending includes legal advice and staff costs. A team of 248 people across major departments has been working on preparing evidence for the inquiry.
People inside the inquiry say the government has sometimes been “hostile and difficult”, delaying documents and blocking information.
The Cabinet Office says it is fully supporting the inquiry and wants to learn lessons for the future.
However, the TaxPayers’ Alliance says the spending is a waste of money, while the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK says the inquiry is important but needs to be more efficient and less confrontational.
A “defensive attitude”
The Covid inquiry has already faced questions about its size and cost.
The inquiry started in 2022, and the final report is not expected until 2027. It has already cost £192 million, and may go above £200 million, making it one of the most expensive public inquiries ever.
There are 10 separate parts to the inquiry, but only two—on pandemic planning and government decisions—are finished.
BBC analysis shows government departments spent around £101 million between April 2023 and June 2025. Most of this spending came from five major departments, including the Cabinet Office, Home Office, Department of Health, the Treasury, and the UK Health Security Agency.
These figures do not include the time staff spent preparing for or attending inquiry hearings.
More than half of the £101 million went to legal fees, including hiring outside lawyers.
An inquiry source said this high spending partly reflects the government’s defensive attitude.
Inquiry chair Baroness Hallett and her legal team have criticised government departments for slow responses and for trying to block the release of important documents.
This conflict became most visible in 2023, when the inquiry took the government to the High Court after it refused to hand over Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages, diaries, and notebooks. The government lost the case.
Sources say the government created a “huge operation” that sometimes felt uncooperative.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “The government is committed to supporting the inquiry and learning from the pandemic so the UK is better prepared in the future.”
The Cabinet Office also said it went to court to clarify whether an inquiry can demand information that the provider believes is irrelevant.
Disgrace
John O’Connell, the head of the TaxPayers’ Alliance think tank, said:
“It’s a complete disgrace that ministers have spent an extra £100 million on top of what the inquiry has already used.
“These new numbers show the total cost for taxpayers will be much higher than we expected.
“Ministers must act quickly to control the rising costs of the Covid Inquiry and make sure it delivers answers fast and efficiently.”
A spokesman for the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK said the inquiry’s work is very important, and any money spent now would be worth it in the future if it helps reduce the economic impact of the next pandemic and saves lives.
But he added: “The inquiry process is far from perfect.”
He said the group supports the Hillsborough Law, which is currently going through parliament and would make public authorities more responsible for helping public inquiries.
He also said public inquiries, including the Covid Inquiry, need to be more efficient and less argumentative.
“Only then can we lower the costs of future inquiries while still protecting people’s right to justice.”
A spokesman for the Covid Inquiry said:
“This inquiry is unlike any previous one. Its scope is very wide because it must look at many parts of a pandemic that affected everyone.”
He said the chair explained from the beginning that it would take time and cost a lot, but the final recommendations will help protect the UK during the next pandemic.
He added that the inquiry would not comment on its relationship with the government.
Published: 3rd December 2025
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