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The UK failed to plan effectively for a pandemic, the first report by the Covid-19 Inquiry is expected to conclude.
The inquiry, which publishes its report on Thursday, reviewed how prepared the country was to face a deadly outbreak before 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic swept around the world.
Former prime minister Lord Cameron admitted during the hearings that it was a “mistake” for his government to focus too heavily on preparations for combating an influenza wave rather than a coronavirus-like pandemic.
But he defended cuts to public services under his leadership, which doctors and unions have blamed for leaving the NHS in a “parlous state”.
Matt Hancock, who was health secretary under Boris Johnson during the pandemic, said it was a “colossal” failure to assume the spread of the virus could not be stopped.
His predecessor in the job, Jeremy Hunt, admitted to being part of “groupthink”, leading to a “narrowness of thinking”.
As well as highlighting blunders made in the run-up to the pandemic, inquiry chair Baroness Heather Hallett is expected to make recommendations about how the UK can better prepare itself for a future outbreak.
More investigations to come
The first module of the public inquiry, which began on 13 June last year, examined whether “the pandemic was properly planned for and whether the UK was adequately ready for that eventuality”.
Its findings and recommendations will be published at noon on Thursday, when inquiry chairwoman Baroness Hallett will make a statement.
So far, eight investigations are under way.
The ninth module will examine the economic response to the pandemic, which is likely to examine the actions of Rishi Sunak, who was chancellor at the time.
Jane Dalton17 July 2024 21:55
Hancock ‘wanted to decide who should live or die if NHS was overwhelmed’
From one of our live blogs last year: Matt Hancock, when he was health secretary, believed that he – rather than doctors or the public – should decide “who should live and who should die” if hospitals became overwhelmed with Covid patients, a former NHS chief executive said:
Jane Dalton17 July 2024 21:20
Everything you need to know about the inquiry
By poring over hundreds of documents, scrutinising the details and hearing testimony on all aspects of the UK’s response to a global disaster that claimed more than 227,000 British lives, the inquiry hopes to draw clear conclusions and perhaps provide a degree of closure for those traumatised or in mourning:
Jane Dalton17 July 2024 20:40
‘Failures to prepare’ under the spotlight
“Failures to properly prepare” for a pandemic in the UK are expected to come under the spotlight on Thursday as the UK Covid-19 Inquiry publishes its first report.
Inquiry chair Baroness Heather Hallett will report on how well the UK was able to face a deadly outbreak in the run up to 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic swept across Britain.
The report is expected to highlight the UK’s focus on preparing for a flu pandemic instead of a coronavirus pandemic.
Lady Hallett may highlight how austerity measures led to public health cutbacks.
She could potentially also comment on preparations surrounding personal protective equipment (PPE) and a government focused on Brexit.
Jane Dalton17 July 2024 20:16
