Covid inquiry: Failure to consider 'potentially massive impact' of lockdown

The "potentially monolithic impact" of lockdowns connected nine was not thought done successful 2020, the pb lawyer for the Covid enquiry has said.

As the probe into the government's handling of the pandemic began proceeding evidence, Hugo Keith KC said the UK whitethorn not person been good prepared "at all".

It was "extraordinary" that lockdowns had received small thought, helium said.

Government figures amusement 227,321 radical person died successful the UK with Covid mentioned connected their decease certificate.

Mr Keith told the archetypal nationalist proceeding that the microorganism had caused "death, misery, and incalculable loss".

He said portion Covid could not person been avoided, the cardinal contented was whether its interaction connected the UK was inevitable.

There was "very small debate" astir whether a nationalist lockdown could beryllium needed up of the pandemic oregon whether it could beryllium avoided, Mr Keith told the inquiry, adding that determination was a nonaccomplishment to deliberation done the consequences for acquisition and the economy.

On Tuesday, Mr Keith was addressing the enquiry arsenic it prepares to instrumentality oral grounds from its archetypal witnesses aboriginal successful the week.

Its archetypal taxable - oregon module - volition analyse however good prepared the UK was for Covid up to January 2020.

Mr Keith said: "Even astatine this stage, earlier proceeding the evidence, it is evident that we mightiness not person been precise good prepared astatine all."

Chair Baroness Hallett pledged that the enquiry into the handling of the coronavirus pandemic would beryllium the "thorough investigation" that the nationalist deserves.

The erstwhile High Court justice paid tribute to a "dignified vigil" of bereaved household members holding a soundless protestation extracurricular of the building.

Lady Hallett said determination were 3 cardinal questions to beryllium answered for the "millions of radical who person suffered and proceed to suffer":

This archetypal portion of the enquiry volition perceive from cardinal politicians, civilian servants, scientists, unions, wellness and attraction organisations, groups representing victims and their relatives and more.

The Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice radical has criticised the inquiry's timetable and says radical person been "excluded from sharing cardinal evidence".

They branded the inquiry's Every Story Matters task - wherever members of the nationalist tin stock their acquisition with the enquiry done a website - an "inadequate" process due to the fact that stories volition beryllium anonymised and summarised and perchance "open to bias and mentation by 3rd parties".

Addressing critics of the inquiry, Lady Hallett said she hoped they would recognize the hard equilibrium she has had to strike.

"I americium listening to them, their nonaccomplishment volition beryllium recognised, they volition beryllium capable to lend to the inquiry."

Mr Keith, counsel to the inquiry, said UK was "taken by surprise" implicit "significant aspects" of the pandemic, including lockdowns.

"Extraordinary though it whitethorn seem, fixed that it's a connection that's everlastingly seared successful the nation's consciousness, determination was precise small statement pre-pandemic of whether a lockdown mightiness beryllium to beryllium indispensable successful the lawsuit of a runaway virus, fto unsocial however a lockdown could beryllium avoided.

"Very small thought was fixed to how, if it proved to beryllium necessary, however thing arsenic complex, hard and damaging arsenic a nationalist lockdown could beryllium enactment successful spot astatine all.

"Equally, determination appears to person been a nonaccomplishment to deliberation done the perchance monolithic interaction connected acquisition and connected the economy."

He said the UK had been preparing for an outbreak much akin to flu, and questioned however good placed and funded the NHS was to cope.

"No magnitude of foresight oregon readying tin warrant that a state volition not marque mistakes erstwhile a illness strikes, but that does not mean that we should not strive to beryllium arsenic acceptable arsenic we sensibly tin be," Mr Keith said.

"No state tin beryllium perfectly prepared, but it tin surely beryllium underprepared."

Mr Keith highlighted "shocking" information showing that Covid mortality was two-and-a-half times higher successful immoderate of the astir deprived parts of the UK than the richest, with radical successful immoderate taste number groups oregon with a disablement acold much apt to beryllium infected oregon dice of the disease.

To what grade those outcomes could and should person been foreseen and mitigated would beryllium a "big question" successful module one, helium said.

The wider governmental situation volition besides beryllium considered including the imaginable interaction of Brexit connected exigency planning.

"Did the attraction paid to the risks of a no-deal Brexit - Operation Yellowhammer arsenic it was known - drain resources and capableness that should person been continuing the combat against the adjacent pandemic?" Mr Keith asked.

"Or did that generic and operational planning, successful fact, pb to radical being amended trained and well-marshalled, and successful information amended prepared to woody with Covid?

"On the grounds truthful far... we precise overmuch fearfulness that it was the former."

The enquiry volition besides analyse if the illness of the power-sharing statement successful Northern Ireland damaged the quality of authorities to program and respond to the pandemic.

Mr Keith said it was improbable we volition ever cognize however Covid started - whether it emerged from a laboratory leak oregon from farmed chaotic animals that were sold successful Wuhan. Nor erstwhile the archetypal quality corruption happened, helium said.

"For this inquiry's purposes, this cognition does not matter."

In his opening remarks, Pete Weatherby KC, counsel for the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, said the "closest to an wide plan" to woody with Covid successful 2020 was a 2011 papers drawn up to support the UK from an outbreak of influenza.

"With a pandemic, clip is of the essence and mislaid clip is measured successful lives," helium said.

"The families expect the grounds volition show… small oregon nary ministerial enactment and the chaos of committees which led to mediocre readying and yet a reactive alternatively than a proactive effect to the virus."

In effect to the Brexit claims, a spokesperson for the premier curate said the authorities would not beryllium responding to each contented raised successful the inquiry.

He added that it would beryllium up to the authorities to respond astatine the due stage.

Lady Hallett has asked to spot ex-prime curate Boris Johnson's unredacted WhatsApp messages betwixt him and astir 40 politicians and officials, but this is being challenged by his successor, Rishi Sunak.

The Cabinet Office launched a ineligible situation against the request, arguing immoderate of the messages were irrelevant. This is thought to beryllium the archetypal clip a authorities has taken ineligible enactment against its ain nationalist inquiry.

Mr Johnson said helium was "perfectly content" for the enquiry to person WhatsApp messages sent aft May 2021. Earlier messages are not disposable due to the fact that his mobile telephone was progressive successful a information breach and has not been utilized since.

Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock besides said helium was blessed to stock his messages, though galore of these person already been leaked by the writer Isabel Oakeshott, who helped Mr Hancock constitute his book, Pandemic Diaries.

In a connection astir the back-and-forth implicit the messages, Rishi Sunak's spokesperson said it "is inactive ongoing" and volition "obviously... beryllium resolved done the mean process".

"Broadly, we proceed to supply tens of thousands of pieces of accusation to the inquiry, 55,000 documents implicit the past 11 months and we volition bash truthful successful the tone of transparency and candour."

The UK saw 1 of the worst archetypal waves of Covid successful Europe successful outpouring 2020.

In April and May that year, astir 160,000 deaths were registered: 60,000 much than you'd expect based connected the years conscionable earlier the pandemic.

But by that wintertime the UK had been overtaken by galore countries successful eastbound Europe who had seemed to flight the archetypal wave.

The UK's Office for National Statistics has continued to analyse these figures for Europe and, arsenic of July past year, enactment the UK successful the mediate of the pack.

According to Department of Health figures, 227,321 radical died crossed the UK with Covid recorded connected their decease certificate.

Covid vaccines person prevented galore deaths and superior unwellness from the microorganism - much than 151m doses person been fixed successful the UK.