Boris Johnson announced the Covid public inquiry’s launch and finalized its terms of reference.
Sessions will be held across the UK starting next year in order to learn from the government’s handling the pandemic.
This comes just days after families of bereaved loved ones warned that they could sue the government for delays.
Baroness Hallett, chair of the inquiry, stated that hearings would be “firmly independently” and that reports would be issued on a regular basis.
The former High Court judge stated that more details regarding the next stages will be made public next month.
She stated that her team would travel across the UK to listen to people’s stories.
Baroness Hallett also will examine the impact of Covid on different groups of people, how it affected bereaved families, and how these findings can be applied to other national emergencies.
She stated that a listening exercise was planned for autumn in order to encourage anyone to share their experiences.
The prime minister stated in a statement that the UK inquiry into Covid-19 was now officially established and is able to start its important work.
In December 2021, Mr Johnson appointed Baroness Hallett as the chair of the inquiry and promised that it would begin its work in spring 2019.
The prime minister wrote to Baroness Hallett to confirm that he had accepted in full the terms she had set for the inquiry. He called them “broad” and “challenging”.
He stated that he would add two additional panel members to the investigation over the next few months to ensure it has “access the entire range of expertise required”.
These are the goals of the inquiry:
It will examine how Covid was contained and communicated, face coverings and lockdowns used, and the effects of the pandemic upon children, health care workers, and the protection of the most clinically vulnerable.
Hannah Brady, spokesperson for Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, stated that the launch was “a special occasion for bereaved family from all corners” and that she hoped that “our terrible experiences are learnt from”.
She said that it was “pity” that the investigation was opened two days after the campaign group stated it was considering a review of “time wasting” by the judicial system.
She said, “It shows that the government were just delaying the process for the longest time they could manage with.”
Layla Moran, Liberal Democrat MP, chair of all-party parliamentary groups on coronavirus, praised the inquiry and asked for interim findings to published before the next general elections.
Numerous reports have placed the UK’s handling the pandemic under fire.
Last October, MPs from the Science and Technology Committee and the Health and Social Care Committee reported that the UK’s inability to prevent Covid spreading earlier during the pandemic was among the worst public health failures.
The government’s approach, supported by scientists, was to try and manage the situation and achieve herd immunity through infection. According to the MPs, this caused delays in the introduction of the first lockdown that cost thousands of lives.
A National Audit Office report last November revealed that ministers weren’t adequately prepared for a pandemic such as Covid-19. They also failed to have detailed plans for shielding, job support and school disruption.
According to the government, the unprecedented pandemic was threatening health systems all over the globe, not just in the UK.
According to the most recent Office for National Statistics (ONS), covid infections are on the rise in the UK.
In the week ended 18 June, Covid was reported by 1.7 million UK residents. Experts cite two Omicron subvariants that are fast spreading.
The latest Covid variants aren’t thought to be more deadly than the older ones. The number of people who are in hospital or in intensive care with the virus remains below its peak levels of earlier in the year.
More than 179,000 people died in the UK after a positive Covid test. However, the death certificates of more than 196,000 people who had Covid are not complete.
