We need a COVID inquiry now
The issue
In May 2021, the Prime Minister announced that an independent inquiry into the Government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic would not begin until Spring 2022. We feared that the Government intends to delay the findings until after the next General Election, expected in 2023 or 2024.
We campaigned for the Covid inquiry to start as early as possible so that the Government could learn vital lessons and apply them to new waves of covid or another pandemic in the future. Starting the inquiry quickly would also reduce the risk that key evidence would be lost.
Why did we campaign?
Pushing for the Covid inquiry to begin was important to us because we believe in transparency in public-decision making. The public deserve answers on how important Covid-related decisions were made and how their money was spent.
Transparency is particularly important in relation to the Government's handling of Covid because of the allegations of cronyism and corruption that have come to light. For example, the High Court ruled that the Government acted unlawfully by awarding COVID-19 contracts based on a ‘fast track’ system which rewarded many of their supporters.
We also believe in democratic accountability for elected representatives. That is why we want the results of the Covid Inquiry to be released before the next General Election, so that the electorate has the full picture of how the pandemic was handled before voting.
Our supporters wanted us to run this campaign. In a survey, 97% of our supporters said that an inquiry into the Government’s handling of the pandemic should begin in 2021.
What did we deliver?
We raised the profile of this issue by getting our supporters to write to their local newspapers about the need for an immediate Covid inquiry. Their letters calling for an independent Covid inquiry featured in a variety of local newspapers across the UK.
We met with other organisations campaigning for a prompt inquiry including Covid 19: Bereaved Families for Justice.
We submitted a response to the public consultation on the Terms of Reference for the UK Covid-19 inquiry. Doing so allowed us to have a say in the topics the inquiry should cover and how it should go about its work.
We wrote to the chair of the Covid inquiry, Baroness Hallett, in December 2021, to ask about the terms of reference of the inquiry. We also raised our concerns about the possibility that staff could delete electronic communications which may be important to the inquiry.
We received a response from the Inquiry Secretary, Ben Connah. He confirmed that Baroness Hallett would consider the public's views when drafting the Terms of Reference for the inquiry. He also confirmed that he had asked the Cabinet Office to ensure all material that could be relevant to the inquiry is retained.
We wrote again to Baroness Hallett in July 2022 over concerns raised in media reports that the Government might try to block the release of documents. In his reply Ben Connah confirmed a refusal to provide evidence to the inquiry was an offence, punishable by up to 51 weeks imprisonment.
Opening the inquiry, Baroness Hallett echoed the reasons we gave for wanting the inquiry to begin as soon as possible. She said, “I am determined to undertake the inquiry as speedily as possible so lessons can be learned before another pandemic strikes."
We also wrote to the Head of the Civil Service to ask whether all Ministers and Civil Servants had been instructed to retain any electronic communications relevant to the inquiry. Darren Tierney, the Director General, Propriety & Ethics for the Civil Service, confirmed to us that well-established records management processes are in place. We remain to be convinced that these processes are effective.
What’s next?
Going forward, we will monitor the progress of the Covid inquiry. We are ready to speak up if important evidence is held back, or if unnecessary delays occur.
We will continue to call out any cronyism or potential corruption within the Government. We recently wrote to the Conservative Party Treasurer to ask that the Conservative Party does not accept donations from companies that were awarded Covid contracts through the ‘VIP lane’ and returns any they might already have received.