A recent inquiry led by retired judge Heather Hallet on Thursday revealed that the UK government was not well prepared for the
Covid-19 pandemic
and that it failed to protect its citizens due to critical errors in planning.
Hallet further said that the government mistakenly believed in 2019 that the UK was among the best-prepared nations worldwide for an outbreak, but it anticipated the wrong type of pandemic—influenza.
“This belief was dangerously mistaken. In reality, the UK was ill-prepared for dealing with the whole-system civil emergency of a pandemic, let alone the coronavirus pandemic that actually struck,” said Hallett.
The Covid-19 pandemic has been held responsible for over 235,000 deaths in the UK through the end of 2023, making it one of the countries with the highest death tolls globally.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also confirmed the reports and said The safety and security of the country should always be the first priority.
“Today’s report confirms what many have always believed — that the UK was under-prepared for Covid-19, and that process, planning and policy across all four nations failed UK citizens. The safety and security of the country should always be the first priority, and this government is committed to learning the lessons from the inquiry and putting better measures in place to protect and prepare us from the impact of any future pandemic," said Starmer.
The inquiry's first report, based on hearings that commenced in June 2023, focused solely on
pandemic preparedness
and did not assign blame to any individual.
The second phase, which will examine the government's response, including the "partygate" scandal involving then Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his staff breaking their own rules by hosting work parties, is expected to be released later.
The third phase will explore the lessons that can be learned from the nation's handling of the crisis. The inquiry is scheduled to hold hearings until 2026.
Hallett's findings revealed that the outdated 2011 pandemic strategy for flu lacked the flexibility to adapt to a crisis nearly a decade later and was quickly abandoned. She highlighted fatal strategic flaws in the assessment of risks faced by the UK, how those risks and their consequences could be managed and prevented from worsening, and how the state should respond. Additionally, there was insufficient focus on the necessary measures to deal with a rapidly transmissible disease and inadequate efforts to establish a system for testing, tracing, and isolating infected patients.
In her 217-page report, Hallett emphasized the need for the UK to be better prepared for the next pandemic, which could potentially be even more deadly. She warned, "The UK will again face a pandemic that, unless we are better prepared, will bring with it immense suffering and huge financial cost and the most vulnerable in society will suffer the most."
Hallett recommended the development and testing of a new pandemic strategy every three years, with government and political leaders being held accountable for having preparedness and resilience systems in place. She also advocated for the involvement of outside experts to prevent the known problem of groupthink.
"Unless the lessons are learned, and fundamental change is implemented, that effort and cost will have been in vain when it comes to the next pandemic. Never again can a disease be allowed to lead to so many deaths and so much suffering," said Hallett.
Elkan Abrahamson, representing the nearly 7,000 members of the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, praised Hallett for adopting most of its recommendations to prevent a repeat disaster. However, he expressed disappointment that the vulnerable were overlooked in the recommendations, and there were no proposals for addressing racial inequality, health inequalities, or the effects of austerity.
English (US) ·