London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

PM promises an independent coronavirus inquiry

PM promises an independent coronavirus inquiry

Boris Johnson has for the first time committed to an "independent inquiry" into the coronavirus pandemic.

The PM said now was not the right time for an investigation but there would "certainly" be one "in the future" so lessons could be learned.

A group representing people bereaved by Covid said the PM's pledge was a "long way from what families need to see".

Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice says the PM has refused to meet them to discuss their concerns.

The group, which met Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer earlier, is calling for an immediate inquiry into the government's handling of the pandemic.

In a statement, it said: "We need to know that any inquiry will be public with the ability for families to contribute their experiences and that it will have the power to access all of the evidence and witnesses needed.


'Disappointing'

"We also believe that a part of any inquiry must begin now to take fast action in order to prevent further unnecessary deaths should we encounter a second wave."

The group added that it was "so disappointing the prime minister is refusing to meet with or listen to bereaved families".

At Prime Minister's Questions, acting Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said the UK had "suffered one of the worst death rates in the world and Europe's worst death rate for health and care workers".

If the PM "still rejects an immediate inquiry," he asked, "will he instead commit in principle to a future public inquiry?"

Mr Johnson said now was not the "right moment to devote huge amounts of official time to an inquiry".


'Real teeth'

But he added: "Of course we will seek to learn the lessons of this pandemic in the future and certainly we will have an independent inquiry into what happened."

Downing Street was unable to give any further details about the nature of the inquiry when pressed on whether it will be judge-led or when it will begin, saying that the remit would be set out "in due course".

Sir Ed Davey said he had written to the prime minister to ask him to "confirm that it should be an inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2005," which he said would give it "real teeth… to get to the bottom of the issue".

He told BBC news he had called for an inquiry "because there's been tens of thousands of deaths" and the bereaved families "need to have some answers". He also said an inquiry should look at the economic impact of the virus.

Sir Ed's rival for the Lib Dem leadership, Layla Moran, who chairs an all-party group on coronavirus, called on the prime minister to "commit to a public inquiry now, not kick this into long grass".


'Aware of report'

During PMQs, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer pressed the prime minister on whether he had learned the lessons of a report this week, which warned about 120,000 new coronavirus deaths in a second wave of infections this winter.

"One of the key recommendations in this report commissioned by the government's office for science, is that testing and tracing capacity will need to be significantly expanded to cope with increased demands over the winter," said Sir Keir

"The reality is this - trace and track is not working as promised as it stands today."

The Labour leader questioned whether the prime minister had even read the scientists' report.

Mr Johnson said he was "aware of the report" but accused the Labour leader of "endlessly knocking the confidence of the people in this country" with criticism of the government's approach.

He added: "Our test and trace system is as good as or better than any other system in the world and yes, it will play a vital part in ensuring that we do not have a second spike this winter."


'Kidding no-one'

Sir Keir said it was "perfectly possible to support track and trace and point out the problems".

He told the PM that "standing up every week and saying it's a 'stunning success' is kidding no-one - that's not giving people confidence in the system".

"They'd like a prime minister who stands up and says 'there are problems and this is what I'm going to do about them'," he added.

Mr Johnson accused the Labour leader of constantly switching from supporting the government to attacking it, with a swipe at Sir Keir's former profession as a lawyer.

"He needs to make up his mind about which brief he's going to take today because at the moment he's got more briefs than Calvin Klein."

A spokesman for the Labour leader said after PMQs: "Keir was raising very serious concerns from bereaved relatives and the prime minister responded with a pre-prepared joke."


What could an inquiry look like?

Independent inquiries can take many forms - from full public inquiries that can take years, or in some cases decades, and cost millions of pounds; to smaller scale, more fleet-footed investigations.

The idea is to hold the powerful to account and try to learn lessons from decisions that have gone wrong, and how to avoid repeating scandals and tragic events in the future.

Recent examples of judge-led inquiries include the Leveson inquiry into media standards, or the ongoing inquiry into the Grenfell Tower catastrophe.

Other inquiries, such as 2009 Iraq inquiry, headed by a retired senior civil servant Sir John Chilcot, do not take evidence under oath.

The government of the day is normally expected to adopt many, if not all, of the recommendations of an official inquiry, although it does not always work out like that in practice.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×