Covid-19 Scandal

From 2019 until June 2023, the Covid-19 pandemic killed over 225,000 people in the UK. The UK government’s handling of the pandemic has been widely criticised, with the UK Covid Inquiry claiming that 23,0000 deaths could have been prevented in England if the lock-down had been introduced sooner.

In August 2020, without consulting health experts, the UK government launched the “Eat Out to Help Out” scheme to stimulate the economy. This scheme accelerated the spread of the virus.

The UK government also enabled those with political connections to the ruling Conservative party to profit from the pandemic, undermining efforts to protect against Covid-19. They awarded contracts to companies who had links to government rather than on the basis of their healthcare expertise. It is alleged that up to £1billion of taxpayer money was spent on unusable PPE bought through these contracts, while NHS staff faced shortages and were forced to work with inadequate protection.

Want to know more? covidfamiliesforjustice.org

Boris Johnson, who served as Prime Minister during the pandemic, refused to hand over all of his WhatsApp messages to the UK Covid Inquiry. He claims that 5,000 messages had been “lost.”

Due to the delays in instituting an official public inquiry, the People’s Covid Inquiry was conducted in 2021 by the network organisation Keep Our NHS Public. This inquiry found that government mismanagement of Covid-19 contributed to tens of thousands of avoidable deaths and suffering. It also accused government officials of misconduct in public office.

“Those bereaved by Covid have seen first-hand how easily the truth is delayed, diluted or denied. We need a change in the law to stop this, otherwise the cycle will just repeat. Hillsborough Law is not just a symbolic fix. It’s a practical one which will ensure a duty of candour and equal access to legal representation”

Lobby Akinnola, COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, inquest.org

“There have been too many failures and too much taxpayers’ money squandered by this Government for us to allow ministers to avoid accountability in the way they are at the moment”

Matt Western MP