Amid such tragedy the state has an obligation to examine its actions as rigorously and as candidly as possible, and to learn every lesson for the future – which is why I’ve always said when the time is right there should be a full and independent inquiry.
So, I can confirm today that the government will establish an independent public inquiry on a statutory basis, with full powers under the Inquiries Act 2005 – including the ability to compel the production of all relevant materials and take oral evidence in public under oath.
In establishing the inquiry, we will work closely with the devolved administrations …
We will consult the devolved administrations before finalising the scope and detailed arrangements so that this inquiry can consider all key aspects of the UK response.
This process will place the state’s actions under the microscope and we should be mindful of the scale of that undertaking and the resources required to do it properly …
Should [new variants] prove highly transmissible and elude the protection of our vaccines, they would have the potential to cause even greater suffering than we endured in January. There is in any case a high likelihood of a surge this winter when the weather assists the transmission of all respiratory diseases and when the pressure on our NHS is most acute.
So I expect that the right moment for the inquiry to begin is at the end of this period in the spring of next year, spring 2022.
This inquiry must be able to look at the events of the last year in the cold light of day and identify the key issues that will make a difference for the future.
Free to scrutinise every document to hear from all the key players and analyse and learn from the breadth of our response.
That’s the right way, I think, to get the answers that the people of this country deserve and to ensure that our United Kingdom is better prepared for any future pandemic.
