After relentless campaigning from the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Group for a statutory inquiry into the Government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, former Prime Minster Boris Johnson officially launched the Inquiry on 28th June 2022.
Many have asked, however, why we need an Inquiry in the first place. What will it achieve? And is this really a valuable use of the Government’s time and money?
Head of Major Inquests and Inquiries at Broudie Jackson Canter, and the solicitor leading the legal team representing the bereaved in the upcoming Inquiry, Elkan Abrahamson, explains why it is so important to have an Inquiry into the Government’s handling of the pandemic.
“Pandemics are not new for us. We have been dealing with them for as long as people have been on this earth. From Influenza, to the Spanish Flu, to the Bubonic Plague, Governments across the world have been well aware that pandemics pose a huge risk to life and can happen at any time. In every edition of the UK National Risk Register, a pandemic has been listed as the biggest potential threat to the British public. Unfortunately, our Government still wasn’t prepared.
“The stark reality is, another pandemic can happen at any time, and we must be ready.”
Lessons learned for future pandemics
The number one reason we need a Covid Inquiry is to learn lessons so that we can be better prepared for another pandemic.
The Chair of the Inquiry announced earlier this year that the Inquiry will be split into modules, each one looking at a particular area of the pandemic. Module 1 will cover the Government’s preparedness and resilience for a pandemic, and Module 2 will look at the Government’s decision-making in response to the pandemic. Further modules are yet to be announced.
The Government will be made to answer questions about their preparedness and response, to find out whether this can be improved for future threats. The aim of the Inquiry is not primarily to point fingers, or issue criminal proceedings against the former Prime Minister, or any other member of the Government. The aim is to find out why certain decisions were made, the impact that these decisions had on the loss of life, and to see how we can prevent this scale of devastation in the future.
Justice for the bereaved
The Covid Inquiry is unique in that it is the only Inquiry into a disaster that has impacted every single person in the country. Unfortunately, it has impacted some much more tragically than others. With more than 200,000 deaths to date with Covid-19 listed on their death certificate, it would be remiss not to ask the question: Could any of them have been saved if things were done differently? There are now millions of bereaved family members across the UK who deserve to know the answer to that question. They deserve justice.
If you’ve lost a loved one to Covid, it isn’t too late to join the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group and be part of this Inquiry, without any cost to you.
Visit our Covid Inquiry FAQ page for answers to some of our commonly asked questions surrounding the Inquiry, next steps, and more.