Frequently Asked Questions relating to the Chair of the UK Covid Inquiry

 

Q. Are the legal team happy with Lady Hallett's appointment as Chair of the Inquiry?

A. With Broudie Jackson Canter's years of experience as Inquiry solicitors we can safely say that we could have done a lot worse that Lady Hallett.

 

Q: What happens if Baroness Hallett cannot see the Inquiry through e.g. due to age or another reason?

A: Another Chair would be appointed. That Chair would then decide to what extent he/she will admit the evidence adduced to that date - for practical reasons we would expect the evidence to that date to be admitted.

 

Q. As there are so many families how will you pick the witnesses?

A. It is up to the Chair to decide who to call as witnesses. She will select witnesses based on their experiences to give an accurate representation of the issues covered in the Terms of Reference. We will discuss this in more detail at a future Live Newsletter Webinar.

 

Q: When people are giving evidence in the public hearings (for example, the PM), who will be questioning them? Will it be Lady Hallett or will Broudie Jackson Canter get to question them too?

A: The default position is that the Chair has an advocate(s) who will ask questions of witnesses. However, we have the right as legal representatives of Core Participants to put forward questions to be asked to witnesses. This is applied differently in each inquiry. Some Chairs allow us to question witnesses directly, some require us to suggest questions to the Chair who will then have them asked by her Counsel. We will raise this point to the Chair within our submissions that we should be allowed to ask questions directly.

 

Q. Can the Chair legally require ministers to appear?

A. Yes, and crucially to give evidence on oath.

 

Q. Will the Chair call on bereaved families to give evidence in the Inquiry?

A. In theory, the Chair has the power to force someone to give evidence. However, as far as the bereaved are concerned, it is unlikely that anyone will have to give evidence. The Chair will likely decide how they will look at particular issues and the evidence of the bereaved families will first of all be considered in the light of whether it can contribute to those issues.

 

Q. Has a timescale to be covered by Inquiry been stated by the Chair?

A. Not yet, however the Chair will (at some point, hopefully sooner rather than later) set out a timetable for what she expects of the Inquiry.

 

Q: Ideally, in the opinion of the legal team, what sort of people should form the panel?

A: People with life experience, ideally of Covid and its impact on communities.

 

Q. Would panellists include anyone who has been directly affected by covid or would they be excluded?

A. It is possible for those affected by Covid to be panellists. We believe that panellists should in fact include those affected by Covid, however this will be the Chair's decision ultimately.

 

Q. There are no transcripts or documents relating to the meetings (that the Chair had with the 150 bereaved families) on the Covid Inquiry website. Whereas there are transcripts for other meetings - long covid, etc. Are there official records of the meetings that were held and (assuming there is some record) why are they not public?

A.The Chair told the bereaved families that their comments would be taken in confidence. For this reason, the documents are not made public.