COVID inquiry begins: Baroness Hallett vows to focus on 226,000 victims

The COVID inquiry is set to commence its initial public hearings today, with Baroness Hallett, a retired judge and the inquiry’s chair, delivering an opening statement. The hearings will also feature a film containing testimonies from grieving families, which has been deemed challenging to view. Baroness Hallett has pledged to centre the investigation around the 226,000 pandemic victims when examining the government’s response. However, some families have criticised her for not allocating more time to hear their experiences, leading to a planned protest outside the London hearing.

During the opening module, which will explore the country’s resilience and preparedness, only one family member who suffered a loss is scheduled to provide evidence. Baroness Hallett has stated that additional bereaved families will be heard in subsequent modules.

Leshie Chandrapala, who believes her father Ranjith Chandrapala would still be alive if better protections were in place for key workers during the pandemic’s peak, said, “It is a monumental day for us and we have been fighting for it ever since the pandemic started.” Ranjith, a bus driver from northwest London, passed away in May 2020.

Leshie added: “We want to learn the lessons so that in future pandemics we’re not going to have a death toll near as much as a quarter of a million people.” She also expressed her need to understand the measures in place and how various organisations collaborated to ensure the safety of bus drivers. “We know that bus driver deaths were very high, disproportionate numbers of transport workers died during the pandemic. And why is that? Was there a lack of preparedness?”

The inquiry has released a list of witnesses expected to testify this week, including Sir Michael Marmot, who authored a report on key worker fatalities. His report discovered that London bus drivers aged between 20 and 65 were 3.5 times more likely to die from COVID between March and May 2020 than men in other professions across England and Wales.

The first module will last six weeks, concluding on 20 July. An interim report will be published shortly after, alleviating concerns about potential delays in presenting the inquiry’s findings.