How does the Covid inquiry work?

Former health secretary Matt Hancock will appear before the Covid inquiry again on Thursday, as it considers the roll-out of vaccines and anti-viral treatment across the UK.

In July 2024, the inquiry’s first report said the UK’s flawed pandemic preparations had led to more deaths and greater economic damage than there should have been.

Just under 227,000 people died in the UK from Covid between March 2020 and May 2023, when the World Health Organization said the “global health emergency” was over.

The Covid inquiry was launched by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in June 2022, more than a year after he said the government’s actions would be put “under the microscope”.

The announcement came after the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice campaign said it was considering launching a judicial review over government “time-wasting”.

Johnson said the inquiry would cover decision-making during the pandemic by the UK government, as well as the administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The first public hearings took place in London in June 2023. Subsequent hearings have been held in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.

Public inquiries are established and funded by the government and are led by an independent chair. They can compel witnesses to give evidence.

No-one is found guilty or innocent, but the inquiry publishes conclusions and recommendations, which the government is not obliged to accept.

The inquiry is chaired by former judge and crossbench peer Baroness Hallett, who previously led the inquests into the 7 July London bombings.

She said that loss and suffering would be at the heart of the inquiry, adding it would be “firmly independent”.

Baroness Hallett said the inquiry would examine how decisions on limiting the spread of Covid were made and communicated; the use of lockdowns and face coverings; and the impact on children, health and care sector workers, and the clinically vulnerable.

She will also consider the effect on bereaved families, and how the findings could be applied to other national emergencies.

Several reports are expected, covering everything from political decision-making to vaccines.

Publishing the first of these in July 2024, Baroness Hallett said the UK was “ill-prepared for dealing with a catastrophic emergency, let alone the coronavirus pandemic”.

“Never again can a disease be allowed to lead to so many deaths and so much suffering,” she added.

The 217-page report, external argued the UK planned for the wrong pandemic – a mild one where spread of a new virus was inevitable – and this led to the “untested” policy of lockdown.

It said the UK government and devolved nations “failed their citizens”, and that ministers did not sufficiently challenge scientific experts.

It made a series of recommendations for reforming the way the government approaches emergency planning across the four nations of the UK.

Baroness Hallett said she wanted these to be acted on quickly, with changes in place within six months or a year.

The inquiry is split into different parts., external

Work on the first module, resilience and preparedness, external, has finished, but the inquiry is actively investigating several other aspects of Covid:

There is no specific timescale for how long the inquiry will last, but Baroness Hallett aims to hold the final public hearings in 2026.

Scotland is holding a separate inquiry into the pandemic.

The inquiry has heard from hundreds of witnesses, including current and former politicians, civil servants, government advisers, public health experts and representatives of bereaved families.

Many were extremely critical of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was in No 10 throughout the pandemic.

He began his two-day evidence session in December 2023 by apologising for the “pain and the loss and the suffering” experienced during the pandemic.

Johnson admitted mistakes were made and that “there were unquestionably things we should have done differently”, but insisted that ministers had done their “level best” in difficult circumstances.

Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak gave evidence about his role as Chancellor during Covid.

He also apologised to “all those who suffered… as a result of the actions that were taken”, but denied his Eat Out to Help Out Scheme had increased infections and deaths.

The government’s chief medical officer, Prof Sir Chris Whitty, and former chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, previously told the inquiry they had not been consulted about the policy.

Sir Patrick, Sir Chris and his former deputy Prof Sir Jonathan Van-Tam also said they had received substantial abuse from the public while carrying out their roles.

Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock has given evidence several times.

He told the inquiry that the UK’s pandemic strategy had been completely wrong, and later denied that he lied to colleagues, while admitting the UK should have locked down much sooner.

Hancock also criticised the “toxic culture” in government, for which he blamed Johnson’s former adviser Dominic Cummings.

In his evidence, Mr Cummings described a “dysfunctional” government and was very critical of Johnson’s approach. The hearing also discussed scathing text messages he sent, many of which contained offensive descriptions of ministers and officials.

Mr Cummings said he regretted the handling of his infamous trip to Barnard Castle during the first lockdown, but denied that he had damaged public trust in the government.

The inquiry also heard from Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish political leaders, including:

Groups representing bereaved families have urged the inquiry to ensure these voices are heard.

Anyone can share their experience through the inquiry’s Every Story Matters, external project, and apply to attend public hearings in person., external

Public hearings are also streamed on the BBC News website and the inquiry’s YouTube channel, external.

In addition, witness transcripts are published on the inquiry website., external