The Role of the Civil Services in the COVID Inquiry

It has been quite some week for the home secretary. From a row over her handling of a speeding ticket to a row over the latest release of net migration stats, Suella Braverman has hardly been out of the headlines. Sunday Times deputy political editor Harry Yorke, the journalist who broke the speeding story, joins the podcast team to pass judgment on Braverman’s performance.  

Why does the Home Office always seem to lurch from crisis to crisis – and what can be done to fix it? A new IfG report lays bare the department’s institutional and cultural problems.

Boris Johnson is back in the news too – so what exactly is his bust-up about lawyers, WhatsApp messages and Covid rules all about?

And is a deteriorating relationship between ministers and civil servants a reason to allow more political appointments into the civil service? A new report sets out the IfG view.

Emma Norris presents.

With Cath Haddon, Alex Thomas, Tim Durrant and Rhys Clyne.

Produced by Milo Hynes.

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