Government ‘failed its citizens’, Covid Inquiry finds as campaigners say findings are 'no surprise'
18 July 2024, 12:01 | Updated: 18 July 2024, 15:58
The chairwoman of the UK Covid public inquiry says there needs to be a “major overhaul” to how the country prepares for whole-system civil emergencies.
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Baroness Heather Hallett, in her first report, said the UK’s planning for a pandemic was “significantly flawed” before coronavirus swept across the globe in 2020.
She said the inquiry had “no hesitation” in concluding that the UK government and devolved administrations had “failed their citizens”.
It comes as Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, alongside medical professionals, said the findings were "no surprise" during a press conference outside St Thomas' Hospital in London.
Dr Saleyha Ashan, a trained medic who served in Bosnia and worked in a hospital in Bangor, Wales, during the Covid pandemic, said: “You can be believed, you can be a healthcare worker, but you can’t be both.”
"I’m disappointed - no, disappointed is a polite word, I’m disgusted," she said.
"I took inspiration from the blood scandal inquiry and the Post Office inquiry," she said, adding it gave campaigners "hope" of what could be achieved through a review.
The inquiry criticised the limited scope of pandemic scenario planning, the lack of economic preparation by the Treasury and a “damaging absence” of focus on the interventions and infrastructure needed to deal with a pandemic.
It said: “Had the UK been better prepared for and more resilient, some of that financial and human cost may have been avoided.
“Preparedness for and resilience to a whole-system civil emergency must be treated in much the same way as we treat a threat from a hostile state.”
Read more: Nicola Sturgeon fights back tears at Covid Inquiry as she's grilled about her pandemic leadership
Sir Keir Starmer said the UK Covid-19 Inquiry's report confirmed that "the UK was under-prepared for Covid-19" and that policy "failed UK citizens".
The Prime Minister said in a statement: "The memories brought about by the inquiry will be very difficult for many people. My heartfelt sympathies go out to all those who lost a loved one during that time.
"The pandemic showed us that the backbone of Britain is made up of those committing their lives to service - key workers like carers, nurses, paramedics, cleaners and teachers. They put themselves in the eye of the storm, and together with people up and down the country, many of them lost their lives or are still living with the impact of the virus.
"Today's report confirms what many have always believed - that the UK was under-prepared for Covid-19, and that process, planning and policy across all four nations failed UK citizens.
"The safety and security of the country should always be the first priority, and this government is committed to learning the lessons from the inquiry and putting better measures in place to protect and prepare us from the impact of any future pandemic".
Ten recommendations have been made, which Baroness Hallett urged the governments in all regions of the UK to adopt, including the creation of a “specialised, independent, UK-wide body for civil emergencies”.
She said: “My report recommends fundamental reform of the way in which the UK government and the devolved administrations prepare for whole-system civil emergencies.
“If the reforms I recommend are implemented, the nation will be more resilient and better able to avoid the terrible losses and costs to society that the Covid-19 pandemic brought.
“I expect all my recommendations to be acted on, with a timetable to be agreed with the respective administrations. I, and my team, will be monitoring this closely.”
The inquiry found that the only pandemic strategy formed by the government was from 2011, in which ministers had planned for 2.5% of the population to die from a flu-like disease.
The height of the outbreak was predicted to be passed in as little as 15 weeks, with between 210,000 and 315,000 additional deaths.
The report said this strategy was “outdated and lacked adaptability” and that it was “virtually abandoned on its first encounter with the pandemic”.
The inquiry has recommended a wider range of scenarios to be used in future risk assessments and a pandemic response exercise to be carried out at least every three years.
It said: “Most members of the public understand the importance of military defence and security of the country.
“Having experienced the devastating consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, they should also now understand the importance of building resilience to and preparedness for whole-system civil emergencies, including pandemics.”
Baroness Hallett has also called for better systems of data collection and a “radical simplification” of the systems that feed into emergency planning, describing the current set-up as “unduly complex and labyrinthe”.
External expertise for the government has also been recommended to guard against ‘groupthink’ - where everyone in an organisation is thinking the same way.
It said Matt Hancock, as health secretary, being repeatedly told that “the UK was one of the best placed countries in the world for responding to a pandemic” was likely down to an element of groupthink in Public Health England.
The first module of the Covid-19 inquiry, which focused on the resilience and preparedness of the UK, worked through 103,000 documents and 213 witness statements.
Reports are set to be published for eight further modules, looking at decision making, procurement, vaccines, and the care sector among other things.
The inquiry chairwoman has restated her aim to finish all public hearings by summer 2026.
