In the United Kingdom, the management of Covid-19 still raises many questions and indignation. At least 227,000 people have died from the virus since March 2020. This is one of the worst results for countries in Europe. It is by recalling this disastrous assessment, with a tribute paid to the victims, that the first public hearings within the framework of the investigation into the management by the British government of the Covid-19 pandemic began this Tuesday, June 13, at London.
Early this morning dozens of members of family groups who lost loved ones during the outbreak were already gathered outside the center in Westbourne Terrace, Paddington, the daily reports The Telegraph. “All hold a photo of their deceased loved one in their hands,” writes the daily.
This commission of inquiry was set up late in July 2022, by Boris Johnson, still Prime Minister at the time, “after months of lobbying on the part of associations of families of victims”, explains the correspondent of the log The world. This investigation is the most ambitious of its kind ever launched in the United Kingdom, note the British press as a whole.
Who is targeted?
Dozens of witnesses must be heard for six weeks. The first to be heard this week will be experts, lawyers and crisis management specialists. This first part should bring together nearly 70 testimonials, according to The Guardian. The program for the coming weeks is not yet detailed, but by mid-July leading policymakers should also be interviewed. Across the Channel, the press thus expects that at least three Prime Ministers, including David Cameron, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, numerous ministers, senior civil servants and Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance, chief doctors and scientists during the pandemic , are among the witnesses, details the British daily. More than 1,000 people are expected to be heard in total.
Open to the public, the auditions will also be streamed live on YouTube. The families of the victims regretted not being part of the witnesses heard in this first part of the investigation. “Without learning from the experiences of our members, how can the investigation properly assess the decisions made by those responsible?”, Lamented Barbara Hervert, from the Covid Bereaved Families group of relatives of victims.
What is the survey trying to find out?
The first part of the investigation of this commission, chaired by the former magistrate Heather Hallett, is supposed to determine if “the pandemic was correctly planned and if the United Kingdom was sufficiently prepared for this eventuality”. “I will start by hearing the preliminary observations of the lawyers in the investigation and the main participants, then the evidence relating to the resilience and the preparation for the pandemic”, indicated the magistrate, at the opening of the commission this morning. . “I also want us to be able to learn from it.”
However, this commission of inquiry does not have the power to lay criminal or civil charges against individuals. “His recommendations are only indicative”, indicates the daily The world. The commission of inquiry is nevertheless endowed with “considerable powers”. It can summon people to testify under oath, demand all “relevant” documents in the context of its work, including private correspondence. These hearings will likely continue until the end of 2024, when a general election is scheduled, notes The Guardian. While the conclusions of the investigation are not expected before 2026.
Can this weaken Prime Minister Rishi Sunak?
Rishi Sunak was for more than two years (2020-2022) Chancellor of the Exchequer, that is to say Minister responsible for Finance and the Treasury, under the government of Boris Johnson. He was therefore part of the management team during the hours of the Covid.
The political climate surrounding the proceedings is explosive, according to descriptions in the British press. As part of the preparation for the investigation, Heather Hallett asked the government of Rishi Sunak to provide her with numerous documents, including WhatsApp exchanges between Boris Johnson and certain political and health officials. The request sparked controversy, the government of Rishi Sunak refusing to submit to it, considering that it was elements “unrelated to the work” carried out by the commission of inquiry. He fears a precedent making all internal communications to government teams likely to end up in the public space. The executive has indicated that it intends to take legal action to establish whether the demands of the investigation are justified or not.
For his part, Boris Johnson said he had nothing to hide and said he was ready to give his messages to the commission himself. A parliamentary committee, separate from the one which begins its hearings on Tuesday, has been tasked with establishing whether Boris Johnson lied to Parliament by repeatedly claiming that all health restrictions had been respected in Downing Street. The findings are expected to be made public in the coming days.