FAILURES to protect Britain from the pandemic were exposed in a damning report, which stated “never again can a disease be allowed to lead to so many deaths and suffering”.
The UK Covid-19 Inquiry's first report blamed Tory health secretaries for "preparing for the wrong pandemic" and assuming it could not be tackled through widespread contact tracing.
It was highly critical of how Boris Johnson's government handled Covid.
Inquiry chair Baroness Heather Hallett said Britain was vulnerable with the NHS running "close to, if not beyond capacity" before the virus. She added: "The primary duty of the state is to protect its citizens from harm. It is therefore the state's duty to ensure the UK is as properly prepared to meet the threats from a lethal disease as it is from a hostile force. Both are threats to national security."
Lady Hallett told of the "harrowing testimony of loss and grief given by bereaved witnesses", adding: "There must be radical reform."
Some 227,000 people died in the UK with Covid from March 2020 to May 2023.
Bereaved families gathered outside the hearing in Paddington, West London, as the 217-page report revealed some of the "human cost" may have been avoided had the UK been better prepared. Covid struck after a decade of Tory austerity cuts. The probe found there was a lack of "surge capacity" in the public health workforce to deal with a spike in demand and little contact tracing infrastructure to control a new virus.
Esta historia es de la edición July 19, 2024 de Daily Mirror UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición July 19, 2024 de Daily Mirror UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
YOU'RE HAVING A LAUGH, MAX
Norris brushes off 'comedian' Verstappen's car taunt
ITALIAN ROB
Ange stars stunned as Hummels strikes a late blow
MIND THE GAP
Victory over City would put the Kop ELEVEN points clear but Van Dijk warns Reds not to derail their dream by thinking league is already in the bag
School abuse rises
A THIRD of school support staff witness verbal abuse and violence every day, a survey reveals today.
159,380 kids 'subjected to trauma of homelessness
A RECORD toll of almost 160,000 children are being \"subjected to the trauma of homelessness\".
RUSSIAN SPY RING'S 'HONEY TRAP' PLOT
Bulgarian trio in espionage trial
Thank God those Oasis 6*****ds did rip-off b* prices. I'd have done it!
Robbie's dig at Gallaghers during his star-studded biopic premiere party
Ross: It may not be Ender the road yet
TV hardman Ross Kemp is shaping up for a comeback as Grant Mitchell for EastEnders' 40th birthday in February.
The bitterest pill
Budget 'forcing chemists to shut or cut their hours'
Mum... you're my best friend
Last words that haunt Saskia's grieving mother