Covid-19 Inquiry: Deaths caused by ‘government incompetence, chaos and callousness’, bereaved families say
As the UK Covid-19 Inquiry heard its final witness statement this week, bereaved families vowed to continue their fight for justice.
Wednesday saw the conclusion of evidence from those who lost loved ones during the pandemic; this moment was described as belonging to “many people”.
Campaign group Covid Bereaved Families for Justice (CBFFJ) highlighted the critical role of “thousands of people across the country grieving over Covid, coming together and refusing to remain silent” in reaching this stage.
Relatives gathered in front of the London hearing center of the investigation, holding photographs of the people they lost and observing a minute of silence in their memories.
The hearings of the tenth and final module of the investigation, which focuses on the deep impact of the epidemic on society, will end with the closing statements of the lawyers on Thursday.
The impact of the curfew on victims of domestic violence, the homeless and bereaved people unable to attend the funerals of loved ones were among the issues examined in the final part of the investigation.
Matt Fowler, co-founder of CBFFJ UK and the first person to draw a heart on the National Covid Memorial Wall in London, promised that the group’s work would continue.
Speaking outside the inquiry on Wednesday, he told those gathered: “Over the years, we have heard hundreds of hours of evidence, and although only two of 10 reports have been published so far, the inquiry’s verdict on those in power during the pandemic has already been utterly damning.
“Thousands of lives were cut short due to government incompetence, chaos and insensitivity.
“That’s what this investigation revealed. And that fact is now in the public record.”
The investigation was officially launched in July 2022, and a report published in November last year found chaos at the heart of the government and failure to take Covid-19 seriously cost 23,000 lives in the first wave of the epidemic.
The report into the government’s response to Covid by inquiry chair Baroness Heather Hallett accused then-prime minister Boris Johnson of being too “optimistic” in his outlook in the early months of 2020.
His report concluded that he presided over a “toxic” culture at No 10 and regularly changed his mind, while cabinet members, including then health secretary Matt Hancock, and key scientists all failed to act with the urgency needed to tackle the virus.
As public hearings wrap up this week, more reports will be released in the coming months from other modules of the inquiry, including health systems, vaccines and treatments, procurement, the care sector as well as the test, trace and isolate system.
Mr Fowler said future reports would “give us a plan to save lives”.
He added: “Our job now is to ensure the plan is put into action. Another crisis is inevitable. It’s a matter of when, not if, even though more than five years have passed since the beginning of the pandemic, we are still not prepared.”
“So the government must use the blueprint provided by this inquiry to change the country for the better and take bold, decisive and urgent action.”
Campaigners said they would “maintain responsibility for the deaths of our loved ones through every means available to us” and “ensure the country continues to remember those we have lost and the toll the pandemic continues to impose on everyone, from the bereaved to those suffering from long Covid.”
Mr Fowler added: “We will continue to fight for justice.”
By the end of December, the investigation had spent just under £204 million, including set-up, chairman and solicitor fees, and the holding of public hearings in four UK countries.
An inquiry spokesman said: “The inquiry is the broadest in scope of any previous public inquiry. The most expensive part of the inquiry’s work concludes in early March with the conclusion of the public hearing programme.
“The focus then moves to writing the remaining reports of the inquiry, five of which will be published this year and three in the first half of 2027. Its recommendations, if implemented quickly and fully, will enable the UK to be better prepared for another pandemic.
“For this research to be worth it, only a fraction of the billions spent during the Covid-19 pandemic need to be saved next time.”
