How do you become a Government tsar? Who appoints them? Why are so many married to Conservative MPs? These are some of the questions arising since the government appointed no less than three “external recruits” to help solve various Covid-19 problems. These are Lord Deighton to lead the supply of sourcing PPE, Kate Bingham to head the UK’s vaccine taskforce and former jockey, Baroness “Dido” Harding in charge of the shambolic NHS test and trace programme. That both Harding and Bingham are married to senior Conservative MPs (Harding to John Penrose and Bingham to Treasury minister Jesse Norman) has resulted in charges of cronyism about the process. Such appointments are designed to bring in expert outsiders to cut through blinkered multi-department bureaucracy and Whitehall groupthink, bringing energy, outside experience, and focus to specific issues. More than 500 tsars have been appointed since the 1990s, with a House of Commons public administration select committee report saying tha...