Government has spent more than £100m so far responding to Covid inquiry

The public inquiry into the Covid pandemic has cost the Government more than £100 million to respond to so far, according to official figures.

Transparency data from the Cabinet Office shows the overall cost of responding to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, including for legal advice and dedicated staff working on preparing evidence.

The cost is on top of the £192 million cost of the inquiry itself so far. The inquiry is expected to become the most expensive in British history.

The documents, analysed by the BBC and seen by the Press Association, reveal 248 full-time equivalent staff were working on the Government response to the Covid inquiry at the last count.

The figures show:

– £56.4 million was spent by the Government on legal costs from April 2023 to June 2025 inclusive, with £26.2 million in the 12 months to March 2024, £25.0 million in the 12 months to March 2025, plus £5.2 million in the three months from April to June 2025.

– £44.6 million was spent on staff costs across this period, made up of £18.0 million in the year to March 2024, £21.6 million in the year to March 2025, and £5.0 million in the three months April-June 2025.

– The combined total for legal and staff costs for the period April 2023 to June 2025 is £100.9 million, though the true amount could be higher as the costs are “not based on a complete set of departmental figures and are not precise for accounting purposes”, according to the Cabinet Office documents.

– The number of full-time equivalent staff working on the Government’s response to the inquiry stood at 265 at the end of the 2023/24 financial year, had risen to 286 by the end of 2024/25, and then fell to 248 across April-June 2025.

A spokesperson for the UK Covid-19 Inquiry said: “The UK Covid-19 Inquiry is unlike any previous public inquiry. It was given a very broad scope because it is investigating multiple aspects of a pandemic that affected everyone in society.

“On opening the inquiry in 2022, the chair, Baroness Hallett, set out the substantial task it faced and made clear that to do this properly would take time and have a significant cost.

“The inquiry is working faster than any previous public inquiry of comparable size.

“By the end of this year the inquiry will have completed nine of its 10 sets of hearings and reports will be published throughout 2026 and early 2027.

“The families who lost loved ones, the key workers who risked their lives and the general public who made enormous sacrifices deserve to learn the truth of what happened during the pandemic and see meaningful change.

“The inquiry’s recommendations are intended to better protect the United Kingdom when the next pandemic strikes and it is imperative that the UK’s four governments implement them.”

The inquiry legal team has openly criticised government departments for delays in providing documents and blocking the release of key information.

In 2023, the government lost its legal challenge to prevent the Covid inquiry from seeing Boris Johnson’s WhatsApps, diaries and notebooks in full.

Bereaved families and opposition parties criticised the Cabinet Office’s failed judicial review, which sought to curb the powers of Lady Hallett, and said it had been a waste of time and money.

The Cabinet Office has been contacted for comment.

A statement from Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK said: “The Covid Inquiry is essential for securing justice and providing a blueprint to save lives in future.

“But the amount the Government has spent responding to the inquiry underlines exactly why the Hillsborough Law is needed now.

“The Hillsborough Law would create a duty of candour requiring public bodies and officials to tell the truth and to co-operate with inquiries fully.

“These vital measures would force authorities to disclose evidence upfront, making inquiries faster and cheaper.”