1. Opening Remarks by the Chair

Lady Hallett: Good morning to all those present in the hearing room, and to those following us online.

Today marks another important milestone for the Covid-19 Public Inquiry United Kingdom. We begin the public hearings into the response to the pandemic. The focus of Module 2 will be on governance and key decision-making at a high level in the United Kingdom, during the time when the pandemic was at its worst and when it caused so much suffering.

Some of those who suffered and who continue to suffer maintained a dignified presence outside the hearing centre this morning to remind us of why we are all here. We will be hearing from some of them during the course of this module.

We will be calling many witnesses, advisers, experts, scientists, politicians and civil servants, but I’ll also hear from about 15 witnesses who will describe the suffering and the problems faced by various groups during the pandemic.

First, I will hear from four representatives of bereaved families. They will be followed by experts on ethnicity, later life, children and young people, frontline and key workers, sex and gender, disabled people, LGBTQ+ and long Covid.

Their evidence will enable us to put the decision-making into context and to help us establish the extent to which decision-makers took into account the interests of such groups and the impact on them when making their decisions.

I know that some of the bereaved have campaigned for me to call more bereaved as witnesses during this Inquiry. I understand their concerns. However, we simply do not have the time to call more witnesses. The need for me to reach conclusions and make recommendations to reduce suffering in the future, when the next pandemic hits the UK, is pressing. I say “when the next pandemic hits the UK” because the evidence in Module 1 suggested it is not if another pandemic will hit us, but when.

The more witnesses we call in any module and the longer the hearing takes, the greater the delay in making recommendations and the greater the delay in hearing other important modules investigating, for example, care homes and children and young people.

I have therefore had to find other ways, with the Inquiry team, to make sure the voices of those who suffered during the pandemic are heard. The Inquiry is not ignoring the bereaved or any other group who suffered; far from it. They may be called as witnesses in later modules where there will be a greater focus on the impact of the pandemic or where they can assist me on the subject of systemic failings. They can contribute to the listening exercise, Every Story Matters, the reports from which I will consider very carefully and which will inform my conclusions and recommendations. Some of them may contribute to the impact films, one of which we are about to see.

14 people from across the United Kingdom have been recorded talking about the devastating impact the pandemic has had on their lives and the lives of their families. The film includes references to bereavement, to grief, to care homes, hospital wards, funerals, feelings of guilt, feelings of anger, loneliness and isolation, long Covid in adults, long Covid in children, mental health, physical disability, and to lockdown rule breaking. I am extremely grateful to all those who have agreed to participate. I know how difficult it must have been for them to recount their experiences on camera.

As with the impact film we showed at the beginning of Module 1, this film too is extremely moving, and there will be those who will find it too distressing to watch. I will pause in a moment to allow those who are in the hearing room who wish to do so to leave for a few minutes. They will be taken to a part of the building where the film will not be shown. The film lasts just over 20 minutes. Those who are following online should press mute or pause the streaming if they do not wish to watch it.

After the film has been played, we shall reassemble, and Mr Keith KC, Counsel to the Inquiry, will begin his opening submissions. He will explain in far more detail than I have done what we shall be examining in this module and what the issues are that I need to resolve, with the help of Counsel to the Inquiry and of course all the core participants.

So would those who would like to leave the hearing room or switch off the streaming online please do so now.

(Pause)

(Video played)

Lady Hallett: We shall now reassemble to hear Mr Keith’s opening submissions.

(Pause)

Lady Hallett: Mr Keith.