Britain’s boom in public inquiries into past disasters

Public inquiries were once a rarity. They have become a fixture of government: 17 are currently under way; several have reached a critical stage. On May 20th—two days before Rishi Sunak called the general election—Sir Brian Langstaff issued his final report into a scandal in which thousands of patients were infected with contaminated blood products. At least 3,000 people died, in large part because of the recklessness and obstinacy of officialdom, Sir Brian concluded.