Main hearings open into UK’s handling of COVID-19 pandemic

The first evidence will be heard in the investigation since it formally started in June 2022.

The main UK COVID-19 inquiry hearings have begun to look at how the coronavirus pandemic was being handled in the country that recorded one of the world’s highest death tolls.

“I have promised many times that those who have suffered hardship and loss will always be at the center of the investigation,” the presiding judge, Heather Hallett, said at the start of Tuesday’s hearing.

“I listen to them. Their loss will be recognized.”

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson had ordered the inquiry to look at the United Kingdom’s preparedness, public health and economic response.

By the time Johnson stepped down last July, more than 175,000 deaths from the virus had been reported.

The first part of the hearings, which looks at Britain’s preparedness for the pandemic, opened on Tuesday.

The inquiry has held preliminary hearings, but this week will hear the first evidence in the inquiry since it formally opened in June 2022.

Political headache

With national elections expected next year, the detailed scrutiny of the decision-making process could cause political headaches for current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who served as finance minister during the pandemic.

However, the second part of the hearings, which will cover governance and decision-making during the pandemic, will not start until later in the year.

The government has filed a legal challenge to the investigation over its requests for internal government WhatsApp messages from Johnson’s tenure, which it says are “plainly irrelevant” to the investigation.

The research argues that it is up to the chairperson to determine which material is relevant. The lawsuit will be heard around the end of June.