§ Mr. ByersTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what have been the costs to his Department of providing(a) legal advice to witnesses appearing before the Scott inquiry, (b) drawing up evidence to be submitted to the Scott inquiry, (c) officials and legal advisers attending the Scott inquiry and (d) other related costs.
§ Mr. AitkenThe cost to MOD of providing legal advice to witnesses giving evidence to Lord Justice Scott's inquiry has still largely to be determined. Some bills have yet to be submitted and others are still receiving consideration within my Department. The known cost of legal advisers attending the inquiry on behalf of the MOD witnesses currently stands at £12,000. Sixty-six current and former MOD officials and Ministers have been asked to give written or oral evidence to the inquiry. They have given this evidence on a personal basis and have not been supervised by the Department in its preparation. There is therefore no central record of the time spent or cost incurred in the provision of such evidence; serving MOD officials prepared and gave their evidence as part of their official duties. The direct central cost of the provision of evidence and information from MOD to the inquiry is estimated to be £128,000, which represents the cost of the inquiry liaison unit within MOD and the costs of photocopying and general presentation of the information.