The People’s Covid Inquiry has accused the Government of ‘misconduct in public office’ over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic which led to tens of thousands of avoidable deaths.

In the absence of a formal public inquiry into the pandemic, The People’s COVID Inquiry began in February 2021 and concluded it’s hearings in the summer. It covered all aspects of the government’s handling of the pandemic and heard testimony from a wide range of people and organisations. These included previous government advisors and key academics, as well as frontline workers and bereaved family members. The Inquiry was chaired by world renowned human rights barrister Michael Mansfield QC who, together with a panel of experts, have now delivered their findings and recommendations on all main aspects of the pandemic to date.

Key findings include:

1. The depleted state of the NHS and other public services prior to the pandemic was a determining factor in poor outcomes and led to avoidable deaths.

2. The government was poorly prepared for the pandemic and moved too slowly, which led to avoidable death.

3. The government adopted the wrong strategy leading to loss of life and growing mistrust in its advice.

4. The government’s poor record on inequalities has put the most vulnerable at risk from illness and death from Covid-19.

5. Misconduct in public office: There has been dismal failure in the face of manifestly obvious risks.

The report received a huge amount of press interest just a section of which you can read by looking at the press page on our People's Covid Inquiry website.

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We're inviting the public and press to join us and Michael Mansfield QC and the People's Covid Inquiry panel to hear our 'manifestly obvious findings'.

The reason we called our People's Covid Inquiry immediately while the pandemic is ongoing was so we could learn lessons and save lives now.

We are inviting the press and the public to hear these preliminary findings and help us make sure they reach the ears of the decision-makers in government so that can be implemented as soon as possible.

As the infection rate rises and the delta variant increasingly becomes a threat, we have no time to lose.

We have been gathering evidence from some of the worlds greatest experts and hearing firsthand stories from the front line for over 4 months, our final report is planned for release in the autumn. But we have plenty to say right now.

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Previous sessions have heard testimony on government policies before and during the pandemic that have had significant bearing on the impact of the pandemic on the population, the differential impacts on groups in the population, the success or failure to control the spread of coronavirus, the resulting high numbers of deaths and people suffering with long term effects of Covid-19. This concluding session takes an overview: as the Delta variant spreads in Britain, and the pandemic rages across the world, with billions unprotected by vaccine, there are important issues of national and international consequence: a people's vaccine, with technology shared and free from patents; governance around the vaccination programme; the importance of listening and responding to citizens such as Bereaved Families for Justice. Inquiry witnesses have been highly critical of the way national government by-passed Local Authorities and Public Health: what could local government do and, most important, what must happen now?; what is the role of a trade union in the pandemic; why has Government policy been in conflict with national trade unions like the NEU and there are questions from a legal standpoint on accountability and legal and statutory compliance.

THE PANEL:

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Michael Mansfield QC (chair), Professor Neena Modi, Dr. Tolullah Oni, Dr. Jacky Davis

Lorna Hackett Barrister (Counsel to the Inquiry)

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WITNESSES:

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Deepti Gurdasani | Clinical epidemiologist & statistical geneticist, Senior Lecturer in Machine Learning, Queen Mary Univ. of London

Kevin Courtney | Joint General Secretary, National Education Union

Stephen Cowan | Leader of Hammersmith & Fulham Council

Matt Western | MP for Warwick & Leamington - written statement read out

Jean Adamson | Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice

Michael Bimmler | Public law barrister

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