Designed delay

 

 

Subject: Designed delay.

We instinctively have faith in the medical profession, to lesser extent the legal profession  and quite a few notches below that, our politicians.

The haemophilia scandal, which we have only recently become aware of, has been simmering for 40 years since contaminated blood was given to patents in the NHS.
The deliberate obfuscation by the authorities is a repeated feature in this country where the guilty parties seem to be able to get away with it time and time again.
The trick, as we have seen in so many contentious moments when the authorities have been embroiled in dubious decisions kicking the enquiry down the road as far as you can, is to call for a Commission of Enquiry and place at its head a retired judge to while away his time producing a report. Governments are able to establish delaying tactics by appointing senior judges who are above reproach but who work with their own sense of urgency. A year, two years, three years for time to take statements and analyse the responses seems, to the layman far too long leaving the aggrieved feeling left out of the loop whilst officials take their time.
The Grenfell Tower inquiry has been spinning its time out,(two years and counting) to the anger of the people who survived the fire but lost so much in the blaze. The scandal of who shall pay for the replacement of the type of cladding used, not only on Grefell but in the tarting up of so many municipal blocks, seems to be shifting from the builder to the residents with residents now facing huge bills to cover the cost.
The Bloody Sunday report which has drawn attention to a number of British solders, now either dead or in their retirement that they should be brought to court to answer charges for actions taken under fire in a hostile environment. The amnesty which applied to the IRA solders and was part of the Peace Treaty signed by Tony Blair seems to have been based on the fact they the IRA were classed as individuals and not part of the security force who's official capacity demands a different level of responsibility.
The dreadful loss of life in 1989 at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield was a case where the police were  found culpable of many errors but were able, through the system to delay the investigation for many years.
In the case of asbestos and coal dust damage to the lungs, the amount of delay in coming to conclusions meant that many people died before their cases could be brought to court and therefore their relatives missed any compensation which might be due,
One wonders if this in fact is the main reason behind the delay. Often the public purse is at risk and the longer the wait, the fewer the claims.