The likelihood is you won’t find the media paying too much attention to the UK’s Covid inquiry, but its work has been rumbling on in the background since the inquiry began on 28 June this year.
With the promise “not drag on for decades”, the Covid inquiry will no doubt answer many of the questions that have been stewing since Covid first arrived on British soil in January 2020.
While the inquiry-proper opens in 2023, the second round of preliminary hearings is taking place this week, following the first preliminary hearing in early October.
Focusing on political decision-making during the pandemic, and health and care sector responses, the preliminary hearing for the second module is sure to throw up some interesting titbits.
Already, the inquiry has requested messages from a Cabinet Office WhatsApp chat, as well as from Boris Johnson himself.
The inquiry, headed by Baroness Hallett, will not hold public hearings until next year, but is currently gathering evidence to deliver “a factual, narrative account” of the response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The inquiry is currently gathering information from people across the UK, including bereaved families. “Those who have suffered will be at the heart of the inquiry,” Baroness Hallett said last month.
The inquiry will also communicate with community groups and support groups.
As well as requesting Cabinet Office communications, the second preliminary hearing has seen the appointment of research firm Ipsos and advertising agency M&C Saatchi to conduct a listening exercise later this year, which aims to chronicle the experiences of thousands across the country. The second preliminary hearing continues today with a focus on Northern Ireland. You can watch it here.
