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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Mark Honigsbaum

Bereaved families fear Covid inquiry cover-up after ban on testimony

John and Ida Sullivan in garden holding a portrait of their daughter Susan
John and Ida Sullivan with a portrait of their daughter Susan, who died from Covid-19 after being denied ICU because of her Down’s syndrome. Photograph: Sophia Evans/The Observer

Families of those who died from Covid-19 have been barred from submitting individual testimony to the official public inquiry about the standard of care received by their loved ones during the pandemic, the Observer can reveal.

Instead, the inquiry chair, Lady Hallett, is proposing they submit “pen portraits” to a private research company as part of a parallel “Listening Project” that will not have the power to demand the disclosure of documents or investigate claims about their relatives’ care.

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