UK citizens were 'failed' by govt during Covid-19 pandemic, report finds
The chair of the public inquiry into Covid-19 in the UK has concluded that citizens were "failed" by the government and warned of "immense suffering" if lessons are not learned before the next pandemic.
Heather Hallett also dismissed the claims of government officials that the UK had been as prepared to deal with a pandemic as anywhere else in the world.
Boris Johnson, who led the Conservative government during the crisis, was portrayed in evidence from former ministers and officials as having been unable to make vital decisions. "I have no hesitation in concluding that the processes, planning and policy of the civil contingency structures across the UK failed the citizens of all four nations," Ms Hallett said, in the first report from the ongoing hearings. "There were serious errors on the part of the state and serious flaws in our civil emergency systems. "This cannot be allowed to happen again." The inquiry is examining the response to the global pandemic which has claimed about 230,000 lives in the UK.
The hearings are set to run for another two years. Today's report deals with the first of its nine modules which looked at the onset of the health crisis.
United States
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Cases: 46 252 513
Deaths: 750 423
Recovered: 0
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India
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Cases: 34 321 025
Deaths: 459 652
Recovered: 0
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Brazil
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Cases: 21 835 785
Deaths: 608 235
Recovered: 0
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United Kingdom
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Cases: 9 215 683
Deaths: 141 607
Recovered: 0
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Russia
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Cases: 8 494 589
Deaths: 237 619
Recovered: 0
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