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Industrial reporter @TrinderMatt
THE Tory government must stop “dragging its feet” on a Covid-19 public inquiry, the TUC has demanded, as a coalition of bereaved families, medics and experts demand a timetable is published immediately.
The union body has joined forces with Bereaved Families for Justice, a group of doctors with long Covid symptoms, scientists in the Independent Sage advisory group and other important stakeholders to set out their key demands for the probe today.
In a legal letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the organisations are calling for an inquiry to start no later than April 4 next year after an “inordinate” amount of time has been wasted already.
Ministers have previously promised that an investigation into the government’s handling of the virus — first detected in Britain in early 2020 — would start in spring 2022, but no further details have been forthcoming.
A date, the groups argued, would “help those who have lost the most to start to feel that there will be an explanation coming for that loss.”
It would also reduce the risk of memories fading and documents being lost, they added.
The signatories plan to apply for core participant status in the inquiry, allowing them to suggest questions, see documents and receive advance copies of the probe’s final report.
The letter comes as speculation continues over whether government staff parties were held in the run-up to Christmas last year while the rest of the country was in strict lockdown as virus cases surged.
Paymaster General Michael Ellis confirmed yesterday that top civil servant Simon Case’s investigation into the allegations, announced by the PM on Wednesday, will consider Downing Street parties on November 27 and December 18 2020, as well as a gathering at the Education Department on December 10 last year.
Mr Johnson was forced to act after a video from last year emerged of government staff joking about an alleged party that took place on December 18, 2020 — a day on which more than 400 virus deaths were reported.
Mr Ellis said police would be told of any potential criminality uncovered, while Labour called on the PM to resign if he is found to have misled MPs.
During an emergency question in the Commons, shadow cabinet office minister Fleur Anderson asked whether the investigation was serious amid reports of yet more potentially illegal gatherings.
The MP for Putney said: “If this investigation finds out that the Prime Minister has misled the House, will he resign?”
“People across the country are angry. Will the government just be straight with the British people?”
The TUC stressed that the escalating scandal makes clear the need for a “no holds barred inquiry” into the pandemic.
General secretary Frances O’Grady said: “With reports that Downing Street held a Christmas Party last year while the rest of us followed the rules and did not see close family and friends, we urgently need a public inquiry.
“The government must get on with announcing the start date and talking to unions, bereaved families and other stakeholders.”
The signatories to the union confederation’s letter called for ministers to ensure those who have “suffered most are put at the heart of this inquiry,” especially disabled people and black and minority ethnic communities.
The investigation must also focus on restoring “human dignity to those that have suffered” and public confidence in the authorities and health services, the letter added.
Bereaved Families for Justice co-founder Jo Goodman said: “Following the events of the last few days it’s clear only an inquiry will restore trust and transparency.
“We simply can’t afford to get it wrong.”