Covid-19 Inquiry Launches in the UK
The UK has launched its Covid-19 inquiry, which is expected to last until at least 2026 at a cost of over £100 million. The inquiry’s chair, Baroness Heather Hallett, intends to investigate almost every aspect of the pandemic that has killed 227,000 people in the country and infected millions more, from government preparedness and decision-making to the impact on care homes and the healthcare system. The inquiry aims to learn lessons for future pandemics while commemorating the losses and hardships endured by those affected. The inquiry’s opening was overshadowed by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resignation from parliament over lying to it about blockade violations as well as unresolved legal and political issues over the government’s refusal to provide all the evidence requested by the inquiry.
UK Inquiry Modules
The UK inquiry is divided into six modules, each looking at different aspects of the pandemic’s impact and response. Module 1 begins with six weeks of questioning 70 witnesses on UK pandemic preparedness, emergency planning and the country’s response approach. The inquiry has already launched an ‘Every Story Matters’ project, allowing people to share their experiences of losing friends and family members. The inquiry will play a film showcasing people’s losses and unveil the first panels of a tapestry representing the impact of Covid-19 across the country. The inquiry’s most controversial sessions are expected in Module 2, covering “basic administrative and political decision-making,” beginning in October.
International Covid-19 Investigations
Numerous independent commissions are investigating Covid-19 in other parts of the world, with the Swedish one already completing its report. Lead barrister, Hugo Keith KC, has responded to criticism of the size and duration of the UK inquiry, stating that very few other countries are conducting formal legal proceedings investigating so many diverse aspects of the pandemic. Keith mentioned that investigations into the pandemic launched more quickly elsewhere with little force of law behind them.
Disputes Over the Inquiry
The UK government is at loggerheads with the inquiry over what material it has to deliver. The Cabinet Office has challenged the inquiry’s request for unedited WhatsApp messages from ministers and key advisers, arguing this would breach the confidentiality of those who worked in the government. Ministers have referred to the 55,000 documents already provided to the inquiry and have stated that only “unambiguously irrelevant” material would be redacted. Baroness Hallett clarified that what is relevant to her lines of inquiry is her call to make. Bereaved families and opposition parties have accused the government of a cover-up.
Problems Facing the Inquiry
The first module of the inquiry will investigate key gaps in the UK’s preparedness, such as why the country did not have a flexible response plan. Before the pandemic hit, the UK was rated one of the best-prepared countries globally. However, the pandemic revealed that to be a myth. Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, states PPE shortages are issues the inquiry needs to examine. The inquiry also needs to determine whether the lockdowns were too stringent, causing too much collateral damage and lasting too long, or imposed too slowly and lifted too soon at the cost of thousands of lives.
Politicians at Risk
The inquiry could pose reputational risks for key UK politicians. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who weathered the pandemic well as chancellor, will face scrutiny over economic calculations that played into government decision-making during the pandemic, which were more opaque than scientific or medical. The Treasury’s specific schemes, such as the Covid emergency loan programs, have estimated losses of up to £16bn due to fraud and error that could potentially tarnish the Treasury’s image.
Matt Hancock, the pandemic-era health secretary until being forced to resign in June 2021 after breaching social distancing guidelines by kissing a colleague, will face scrutiny over weaknesses in Covid testing and patient discharge from hospitals to nursing homes. The inquiry may reassess former Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne, examining whether they have adequately weighed the impact of their austerity measures on the country’s health service and pandemic preparedness.
How the UK Inquiry Compares to Others
The UK inquiry is unique because of its comprehensive nature and legal status to investigate diverse aspects of the pandemic. Most countries have not launched formal legal proceedings to investigate the pandemic’s different aspects, which the UK has done. The Swedish inquiry into Covid-19 has already reported and is unique in that it is the only inquiry to have specifically focused on the country’s approach to managing the pandemic.
Engaging Piece
The UK inquiry into Covid-19 is expected to reveal significant insights from the pandemic’s impact and response. The inquiry may provide lessons for handling future pandemics and commemorate the losses and hardships suffered by many people in the UK. The inquiry is divided into different modules, and Module 1 has already begun. The inquiry’s most dubious sessions are expected in Module 2, beginning in October, when examining “basic administrative and political decision-making.” However, the inquiry’s opening was overshadowed by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigning from parliament in a dispute over evidence handling.
The inquiry will need to address why the UK lacked a flexible response plan when the pandemic hit, given the country was rated one of the best-prepared globally before Covid-19. Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, highlights PPE shortages as another issue to be examined. Another question the inquiry will examine is whether lockdowns lasted too long, causing collateral damage, or were lifted too soon, at the cost of many lives.
The Covid-19 inquiry could risk the reputation of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the Treasury, as well as politicians such as Matt Hancock, the former health secretary, David Cameron and George Osborne, who both face scrutiny over austerity measures and pandemic preparedness. The investigation will be lengthy, but few other countries are conducting such formal legal proceedings to investigate so many aspects of the pandemic. Importantly, the inquiry aims to learn from past mistakes and potentially enhance preparedness for future crises.
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The UK’s Covid-19 inquiry holds its first public hearing on Tuesday, launching an investigation that is expected to run until at least 2026 and is expected to cost well over £100m.
Its chair, Baroness Heather Hallett, intends to hear evidence on almost every aspect of a pandemic that has killed 227,000 people in Britain and infected many millions more, from government preparedness and decision-making to the impact on the homes of care and the health service.
As well as learning lessons for handling future pandemics, Hallett clarified that he intended the inquiry to “commemorate the hardships and losses suffered by so many people in the UK”.
But the opening of the inquiry was overshadowed by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resignation from parliament on Friday the Municipal Survey about his lying to parliament about blockade violations, as well as an unresolved legal and political storm over the government’s refusal to hand over all the evidence Hallett deems essential to a full investigation.
How will the investigation work and how does it compare to Covid investigations elsewhere?
The UK inquiry is split into six inquiries, called modules, looking at different aspects of Covid and its impact. Module 1 begins on Tuesday with six consecutive weeks questioning 70 witnesses on UK pandemic preparedness and emergency planning.
Ahead of the hearing, the Cabinet Office announced on Monday an updated biosecurity strategy, including a biothreat radar that will monitor the developing risks of infectious diseases and biological attacks. He said the government was spending £1.5bn a year on the strategy.
The inquiry’s most contentious sessions are likely to come when Module 2, covering “basic administrative and political decision-making,” begins in October.
The inquiry will highlight its commemorative side on Tuesday, with a film showing people’s experiences of loss and the unveiling of the first panels of a huge tapestry that will capture the impact of Covid across the country.
To give a voice to people who have lost friends and family, the inquiry has launched a project called ‘Every Story Matters’ which allows people to share their experiences. But Thalia Maragh, who represents families mourning justice, said many families “just didn’t engage” with the scheme, in part because they wanted to present evidence directly to the inquiry rather than have their accounts taken by mediators.
Several independent commissions are already investigating the pandemic in other parts of the world and the Swedish one has already reported. Responding to criticism of the size and length of the UK inquiry, lead barrister Hugo Keith KC said few other countries were conducting formal legal proceedings to investigate so many aspects of the pandemic.
Keith said investigations elsewhere that were launched more quickly “had no force of law behind them”.
There’s already been a huge fight over the investigation. What is it about?
The UK government is at loggerheads with the inquiry into what material it has to deliver. The Cabinet Office has legal action has been taken contesting the inquiry’s request for unedited WhatsApp messages from ministers and key advisers, arguing that this would violate the privacy of those who had worked in government.
Ministers point out that 55,000 documents have already been passed to the inquiry and insist that only “unambiguously irrelevant” material would be redacted. Hallett said it is up to her to determine what is relevant to her lines of inquiry.
Bereaved families and opposition parties accused the government of staging a cover-up.
Hannah White, think-tank director at the Institute for Government, warned: “Setting a precedent by which people subject to public inquiry can define relevance would fundamentally undermine the credibility and value of this and all future public inquiries.”
The government’s judicial review will be heard in court on June 30.
What are the major problems facing the investigation?
The first module “should examine key gaps in the UK’s preparedness,” said Devi Sridhar, professor of global public health at the University of Edinburgh. “One question will be why the UK did not have a flexible response plan. We were preparing for a flu pandemic and then another virus came.”
Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, said: ‘Before Covid the UK was ranked on paper as one of the two or three best prepared countries in the world. When the pandemic hit, that turned out to be a myth.”
One issue the inquiry needs to look into, Hunter said, was the acute shortage of personal protective equipment. “We had contracts to supply PPE, but the problem was that these were just-in-time purchasing contracts which could not be fulfilled when everyone else wanted PPE at the same time. We had stopped stockpiling PPE to save money.
Perhaps the most exciting question is whether the lockdowns were too stringent and lasted too long, causing too much collateral damage, or, conversely, were imposed too slowly and eased too soon, at the cost of many thousands of lives.
“Health experts know lockdowns have a place in the fight against a pandemic, but timing and using them should be much smarter than during Covid,” said Michael Head, senior health researcher at the l ‘University of Southampton.
Which politicians’ reputations are at stake?
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has a lot to lose in terms of reputation, having weathered the pandemic well as chancellor. He will face close scrutiny over the economic calculations that played into government decision-making, which at the time were more opaque than scientific and medical factors.
Its image could also be tarnished by scrutiny of specific Treasury schemes such as the Covid emergency loan programmes, which are estimated to have lost up to £16bn due to fraud and error.
Johnson’s reputation is already deeply scarred, but the investigation still risks uncovering further evidence that will lead his party to conclude that he is unfit to govern, blocking any potential return.
Also under pressure is Matt Hancock, the pandemic-era health secretary until he was forced to resign in June 2021 after he breached social distancing guidelines by kissing a colleague. Hancock faces questioning over weaknesses in Covid testing and patient discharges from hospital to nursing homes.
Former Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne could also undergo a reassessment, carefully examining whether they have duly weighed the impact of their austerity measures on the resilience of the health service and the nation’s pandemic preparedness.
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