First report from the Covid-19 inquiry out today

The first report from the Covid-19 Inquiry is expected to highlight failures to properly prepare for a pandemic in the UK.

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 first report from the inquiry 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 cut backs.

She could potentially also comment on preparations surrounding personal protective equipment (PPE) and a government focused on Brexit.

Inquiry hears from politicians, scientists and health experts

Key politicians, scientists and health experts appeared as witnesses during the first module of the inquiry – which is titled Resilience and Preparedness.

Former health secretaries Matt Hancock and Jeremy Hunt were put under the spotlight during oral evidence sessions, alongside former prime minister Lord Cameron and former levelling up secretary Michael Gove.

Lord Cameron conceded it was a “mistake” for his government to focus too heavily on preparations for combating a wave of influenza rather than a coronavirus-like pandemic.

But he defended the programme of austerity cuts to public services under his leadership between 2010 and 2016, which medics and unions have blamed for leaving the NHS in a “parlous state”.

Mr Hunt admitted being part of “groupthink” when he was health secretary, leading to a “narrowness of thinking” that failed to expand UK pandemic preparedness beyond planning for a flu outbreak.

And Mr Hancock said it was a “colossal” failure to assume the spread of the virus could not be stopped.

Meanwhile, Mr Gove argued that planning for a no-deal Brexit made the UK “more match fit” for dealing with the pandemic. He denied that moving staff over to Brexit work had a detrimental effect on pandemic planning when he appeared before the inquiry in July last year.

There were more than 235,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK up to the end of 2023.

"Lessons must be learnt from the mistakes of the past"

Brenda Doherty, on behalf of Covid 19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK, said in a statement: “The publication of the module one report marks a huge milestone for bereaved families like mine.

“We know that for lives to be saved in the future, lessons must be learnt from the mistakes of the past.

“Sadly, nobody knows the true cost of the government’s failure to prepare as we do.

“From campaigning to bring about an inquiry, to hearing revelation after revelation regarding the ways in which our loved ones were failed, the years leading up to today have been draining. We know, however, that the inquiry’s recommendations have the potential to save lives in the future, if lessons have been learned from the loss of our loved ones.”

The first module of the public inquiry examined “if the pandemic was properly planned for and whether the UK was adequately ready for that eventuality”.

As well as highlighting blunders made in the run-up to the pandemic, Lady Hallett is expected to make recommendations about how the UK can better prepare itself for a future outbreak.

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