For those following along at home, the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq war has now been underway for over six years. It sets out to examine the UK’s involvement in the war and “identify lessons that can be learned”.

Now The Times reports that MPs have appointed financial services barrister Andrew Green, QC to lead an investigation – to determine why these types of investigation take so long.

You could say this new, meta-inquiry will see if lessons can be learned about inquiries.

Under a process called “Maxwellisation”, individuals who face criticism in public reports are given the right to respond before publication – allegedly one of the reasons for the delay with Chilcot. Green will be responsible for “assessing the value” of this process as it applies elsewhere; but it may shed some light on why the Chilcot Inquiry, which uses the same process, has taken so long.

There is as yet no word on how long the investigation into investigations will take, but this mole encourages any barristers with experience inquiring into inquiries into inquiries to keep their diaries clear.