Ongoing Scottish inquiries have cost over £186m

Data obtained by the BBC reveals that £150.4 million has been spent on running costs, while public bodies have spent £36.4 million in order to participate.

The majority of the costs are associated with the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry chaired by Lady Smith, which began in 2015 – accounting for £85m in running costs and £24.9m in participants’ costs.

The second-most expensive has been the Scottish Covid Inquiry chaired by Lord Brailsford, which has accumulated £26.1m in running costs and £0.81m in participants’ costs.

The Sheku Bayoh Inquiry chaired by Lord Bracadale has involved running costs of £20.1m and participants’ costs of £1.3m.

The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry chaired by Lord Brodie has total running costs of £19.2m and participants’ costs of £9.4m.