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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Robert Booth Social affairs correspondent

No-deal Brexit planning ‘crowded out’ efforts to prepare for pandemic

Bereaved relatives gathered as the Covid inquiry started in London on Tuesday.
Bereaved relatives gathered as the Covid inquiry started in London on Tuesday. Photograph: James Veysey/Shutterstock

Planning for a no-deal Brexit from 2018 “crowded out” government efforts to prepare for a pandemic and contributed to leaving the country unready, the first evidence session of the Covid public inquiry has heard.

UK government pandemic planning failed to show “proper foresight” and “even at this stage, before hearing the evidence, it is apparent that we might not have been very well prepared at all”, Hugo Keith KC, counsel to the inquiry, said.

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