The first public hearing of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry is being held on Tuesday in a key moment for an investigation that is set to last years and cost more than £100million.
The independent public inquiry was set up by former prime minister Boris Johnson to examine the UK’s response to and impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
It is chaired by Baroness Heather Hallett, a former Court of Appeal judge.
Families of those who died during the pandemic hope the Government will be held accountable, acknowledge their grief and learn lessons before the next global pandemic.
The investigation is split into six modules, with public hearings scheduled to conclude by summer 2026, with interim reports published before then.
Lady Hallett is planning to publish reports for Module 1 and 2 next year.
What to expect from the first day?
The session on Tuesday will open with a statement from chairwoman Baroness Heather Hallett, followed by a short film showing the impact of the pandemic.
The inquiry will “examine, consider and report on preparations and the response to the pandemic in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland” up to and including June 28, 2022.
Six weeks of hearings are planned for the first module of the inquiry, which will focus on resilience and preparedness.
Katharine Hammond, the former director of the civil contingencies secretariat in the Cabinet Office, is among those who will give testimony during the opening week of verbal evidence to the pandemic investigation.
The rest of the opening day will be taken up with the opening statements by the counsel to the inquiry and core participants.
Who are key people set to give evidence?
Epidemiologists Professor Jimmy Whitworth and Dr Charlotte Hammer will be the first to give evidence in person, starting on Wednesday afternoon.
Professor David Heymann, retired civil servant Bruce Mann and Professor David Alexander will appear on Thursday June 15.
On Friday June 16, Professor Sir Michael Marmot and Professor Clare Bambra will give evidence before Ms Hammond’s afternoon appearance.
Hearings are open to the public, with limited seating at the central London venue reserved on a “first come first served basis”, the inquiry said.
What lessons are hoped to be learned?
As well as listening to the experiences of bereaved families, the Covid Inquiry aims to better prepare the UK for the next pandemic or civil emergency.
This includes examining lessons learned in relation to preparedness and resilience, how decisions wer made and communicated and the use of lockdowns and other measures such as testing and contact tracing.
The inquiry also aims to look at the impact of mental health on Britons and the bereaved, and healthcare workers, educators, hospitality and other sectors.
The full terms of reference can be read here.
Boris Johnson’s Whatsapp row explained
The inquiry’s second module, with evidence scheduled to be given in the autumn, will look into Government decision making during the pandemic.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s phone evidence is likely to be heavily relied upon.
Messages relating to the ordering of three coronavirus lockdowns in 2020 are likely on a phone Mr Johnson stopped using in May 2021 after it emerged his mobile number had been available online for 15 years.
But redacted copies of Mr Johnson’s notebooks, diaries and WhatsApp messages from Mr Johnson’s “new” phone have been submitted as evidence.
The Privileges Committee met on Monday to finalise its report into whether Mr Johnson misled parliament over the partygate scandal. The former PM dismissed the inquiry as a “witch hunt” as he dramatically announced his resignation from the Commons on Friday.
Inquiry chairwoman Baroness Hallett had given the Government until Friday to set out its position on whether it would submit the pandemic leader’s WhatsApp messages, notebooks and diaries uncensored to her investigation.
Ministers are challenging her request for the materials in the courts but lawyers for the probe have suggested Mr Johnson’s co-operation with the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, which he set up when in Downing Street, meant it was likely to see the unredacted documents before a judicial review is heard at the end of the month.
