Ministers have been slow to tackle systematic racism and racial inequality during the pandemic, and persist in trying to explain away disproportionality in death rates, the head of the Covid-19 public inquiry has been told in a leaked letter from black, Asian and minority ethnic leaders.
The government published its draft terms of reference for the inquiry in March and stated that the main topics would be the response to the pandemic and its impact in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It said the inquiry would also produce a factual narrative account of what happened.
