Senior Tories express doubts over Covid inquiry legal challenge

George Freeman says judicial review likely to fail as Gavin Barwell says it should never have been launched

Two senior Conservatives have expressed doubts over Rishi Sunak’s controversial decision to launch legal action against the public inquiry into the government’s handling of Covid-19.

George Freeman, the science minister, said he believed the challenge was unlikely to succeed, while the former Downing Street chief of staff Gavin Barwell said it should not have been launched at all.