Highly sensitive and confidential COVID-19 patient data was leaked to the media in 2020.

In the days that followed, the State Services Commission called on Michael to conduct an independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the leak and what, if any, improvements might prevent something similar happening in the future.

In the early days of the inquiry, those responsible for the leak revealed themselves publicly and the inquiry therefore focused on the circumstances that allowed the information to reach the media in the first place