Peter Rhodes on endless inquiries, curious dates and Trump's tale of casseroled cats
First, a couple of updates from one of the few thriving, booming and everlasting British industries – the public-inquiry industry.
First comes news that the vast, UK-travelling probe into the Covid pandemic has now embraced the stories of more than 30,000 healthcare staff and relatives which form part of the evidence. Now, clearly, this investigation must be thorough. But 30,000 testimonies, for heaven's sake? The whole point of an inquiry is to tell people what happened, not present them with a tome so immense that no individual ever reads it.
Meanwhile, in the grand tradition of delaying inquiries for as long as the long grass grows, the Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn has just announced a public inquiry into the murder of the Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane, who was shot in 1989. Steady on, Mr Benn, let us not rush recklessly into this.
