Southport and the problem with judge-led inquiries

Sir Keir Starmer has promised an inquiry into the events around the Southport murders committed by Axel Rudakubana, saying there are questions about the ‘Westminster system’. ‘I’m angry about it,’ the Prime Minister says. ‘Nothing will be off the table in this inquiry.’

It is not yet clear who will run that inquiry, or how. There will no doubt be an assumption that the inquiry must be on a statutory footing and led by a judge. Such inquiries are generally seen as the gold standard; anything that isn’t a statutory inquiry led by a judge will likely lead to political trouble for the Prime Minister.

But is appointing a judge the best way to unravel complicated problems of public administration and policy?

For years now, thoughtful observers of inquiries have been suggesting that, actually, a judge-led inquiry isn’t always the most effective route to the truth – likewise the statutory status that allows the inquiry to compel witnesses to attend.