Well, there’s a turn-up for the books. According to this story (below), Sir Robert Owen will brook no delay: he wants an inquiry now. Sir Robert is, of course, right — but he’s retired and who’s going to take notice of a retired judge? Not Johnson for sure. Neither will he listen to

 the Royal College of Nursing, Bob Kerslake, the former head of the civil service under David Cameron, Angela Rayner, the deputy Labour leader, and Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats.

It’s good of Sir Robert to suggest a “duty of candour”, to be put in a charter and applied to all inquiries. But what good would that do? Most of us might assume that a duty of candour is a given — otherwise what’s the use of a sodding inquiry in the first place? And what difference would it make if it was written down? If they want to be candour-free, they will be candour-free:

Lord Justice Cholmondeley-Grimwood: I must remind all parties to this inquiry of their duty of candour throughout these proceedings.

Counsel for the government: My Lord, my clients assure me that they have been working incredibly hard to ensure that candour is at the very heart of their approach.

This perfect example of a lack of candour will continue “throughout these proceedings”, as his Lordship might put it.

Candour excluded.

Government exonerated.

Justice denied.

Public inquiry into Covid must begin now, says senior judge
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jun/24/public-inquiry-into-covid-must-begin-now-says-senior-judge-sir-robert-owen?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other