All four of the UK’s governments are criticised in the latest report from the public inquiry into the coronavirus pandemic of 2020-22. The Northern Ireland Executive’s response is judged to have been marred by political divisions. In Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon did not involve cabinet colleagues enough in decision-making (though she is also described as serious and diligent). In Wales, Mark Drakeford’s government mirrored some of the errors made in London, particularly when it delayed the introduction of new restrictions in the autumn of 2020.
But rightly, given its responsibilities, size and resources, as well as its record, the UK administration led by Boris Johnson comes in for the biggest share of blame. Some of Heather Hallett’s findings regarding the political governance of the crisis are already familiar. Nothing in this report will damage the former prime minister’s reputation as much as what is already known about lockdown-breaking social gatherings in 2020 – or the fact that he misled parliament about them.
The contribution of his adviser, Dominic Cummings, to a “culture of fear” in the civil service, is news to no one. But the portrait of an administration not only “toxic” and out of its depth, but disastrously complacent, is damning. To the bereaved families who campaigned for this inquiry, the events of February 2020 – when the PM went away for half-term and did not receive daily briefings, or meet with his cabinet – are unforgivable. The report calls this “a lost month”.
Equally disturbing are conclusions about the Department for Health and Social Care. While Matt Hancock, the secretary of state during the worst period, has left parliament, his most senior official, Sir Chris Wormald, now heads the civil service. Mr Hancock gained a reputation among top advisers for misleading statements (before having to resign after breaking distancing guidelines by kissing an aide). Helen MacNamara, the deputy cabinet secretary, described his “nuclear levels” of confidence.
Sir Chris, as permanent secretary, ought to have offered a corrective. Instead, the inquiry heard evidence that he was still resisting lockdown measures as late as 15 March 2020. The department will face further scrutiny when the pandemic’s impact on care homes, where there were 45,632 Covid deaths, is analysed in a later report.
For families, and anyone else interested in the Johnson government’s record, this report is a milestone in their efforts to get at the truth. They want those responsible to be held accountable, and believe Mr Johnson should lose the privileges and allowance granted him as a former PM. But while the priorities of Mr Johnson’s Brexit-focused government, and his flawed character, clearly hampered the response to Covid-19, it would be folly to assume that the problems exposed by the pandemic have since been fixed.
The inquiry is ongoing and not immune from criticism itself. Paul Johnson, a former chief of the Institute for Fiscal Studies thinktank, is among those who have questioned its length, cost and remit. But the UK’s fundamental unpreparedness for the pandemic, despite repeated warnings, combined with a deficit of scientific understanding in government – for which expert advice could not make up – must be confronted. Emergency planning is a core responsibility of government. It is not enough to establish precisely what previous incumbents got wrong. It is essential to use that information so that their successors do better when the next major crisis strikes.
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