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Welcome to another episode of The Restisted Politics with me, Alistair Campbell.

And me, Rory Stewart, and Alistair Campbell, the world is wearing a very fetching blue shirt.

Royal blue shirt.

Royal blue, ah yes, I wonder whether that's because I'm dressed in the dark this morning before I went for my very early swim.

Now we're going to talk about the COVID inquiry, which I think is becoming very, very interesting in its early stages,

even as it sets out as Baroness Hallett sets out what she wants to do with it.

We're going to talk about China, in particular China relations with the United States.

And I think if we've got time, we want to talk about Kosovo, was something there at the moment, which is alarming,

but I will argue not as alarming as maybe some people are trying to suggest.

And also Poland, where we're recording on Monday, and yesterday half a million people it seems turned out to protest against a plan.

And what is being perceived as a plan by the government stop Donald Tusk from being a candidate in the upcoming election.

So is that sound okay?

Sounds very good.

But let's start, start off maybe with COVID inquiry and what's been interesting you and troubling you around this.

Very quick explainer for people on this Baroness Hallett, retired appeal court judge, wonderful desert island discs to listen to if people want to learn more about Baroness Hallett.

Her father started as a beat cop and then rose out to be a very senior policeman, but overview on what she's doing with the COVID inquiry.

Well, she says that she's going to, as it were cliché time, leave no stone unturned.

It would seem from the approach that she's taking thus far that that's going to be the case.

So she's got several different investigations going on and she's calling the modules.

...