Dear prime minister,
On 20 May 2020, my dad’s death certificate was being signed. We were arranging his funeral 30 years too early.
He had passed away four days earlier, having contracted Covid-19 on his way to work as a key worker in Wigan. We sat by his side and watched.
In September of last year you looked me in the eyes in the Downing Street garden and told me you had done everything you could to save him. You saw photos of his last days that no one had ever seen before.
It is now clear that whilst my dad’s death certificate was being signed and me and my younger sister were grieving alone, dozens of people were gathered, clutching a bottle they had been invited to bring, in the same place you told me you had done everything you could.
You can only imagine the pain, anguish and anger this news has brought to me and those of us lost a loved one to Covid-19.
To make matters worse, when asked about this event by Sky News you laughed, smirked and seemed to treat it as one big joke.
Put simply, your response has added unnecessary additional hurt to those of us still grieving and who could not even hug our family and friends whilst we buried our loved ones.
I had to stand and watch my grandparents break down over a hole in the ground, terrified that if I went near them, they would catch Covid and die, too.
I call on you now to apologise for that additional hurt caused by your response. To fail to do so would simply demonstrate to the bereaved community we have never been further from your thoughts.
This morning, your ministers across news outlets maintained the frankly laughable notion that it would be impossible to know whether you yourself attended this event of 20 May 2020. This notion adds insult to injury. You know whether you were present. Your team will know whether you were present. The dozens who gathered that day know whether you were present. Two have already confirmed that you were. More will surely follow.
It is simply a matter of common decency and respect for not only us or the British people, but the office you hold as prime minister of the United Kingdom to tell us all whether you attended this flagrant breach of your government’s own rules.
My dad didn’t have much in his life, but he had his integrity and a sense of right and wrong that he passed down to me. If you did wrong and attended this party, or knew of it happening, do the right thing and own up to it before any investigation forces you to, not after.
Yours sincerely,
Hannah Brady
On behalf of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice
