Justice Secretary Ken Clarke has slammed the £200million Bloody Sunday inquiry as a "disaster".

He hit out as officials prepared to publish the 5,000-page report tomorrow - 12 years after the inquiry was launched.

A total of 14 people died after Paras opened fire on civil rights protesters in Londonderry in January 1972.

Army chiefs have already voiced fears that the probe by Lord Saville could lead to prosecutions of ex-Paras.

There is also concern that taxpayers could face a massive compensation bill.

Mr Clarke insisted he wanted to get a grip on the cost of inquiries in future.

He said: "You have to go back to the beginning and say 'Why is it costing so much more than it used to?

"Why is it costing so much more than any other country? What do you need to spend money on?'

"And Saville as an inquiry has been a disaster in terms of time and expense."

He added: "I'm anxiously considering how we can stop such inquiries getting ludicrously out of hand, in terms of cost and length, as this was allowed to do."

Ex-PM Tony Blair set up the Saville inquiry in 1998 as part of the Northern Ireland peace process.

It has been a goldmine for lawyers - who have raked in £100million in fees and expenses.

Edwin Glasgow QC, senior barrister for the Armed Forces, has pocketed £4million.

Michael Mansfield QC, who worked for the victims' families, raked in another £682,000.

Sixteen other top lawyers involved in the case were paid £1million or more.

A further £15million was spent on accommodation, £13million went on IT equipment - including costs involved in moving the inquiry from Londonderry to London - and £4million went on transport.

Lord Saville's office charged £400,000 a month until the end of 2008, even though the inquiry has not held a public hearing for nearly five years.

The original estimate for the inquiry was just £11million.