Bereaved families demonstrate outside UK Covid-19 Inquiry

Bereaved families demonstrated extracurricular the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, holding pictures of loved ones and rolling retired a reddish carpet with the words “let bereaved families springiness evidence”.

A radical of radical stood successful beforehand of the carpet extracurricular Dorland House successful London during the luncheon break, aft erstwhile wellness caput Matt Hancock gave grounds successful the morning.

Lobby Akinnola, 33, said helium went to the enquiry connected Thursday to “act arsenic a dependable for radical who can’t speak”.

Mr Akinnola’s father, Femi Akinnola, died astatine the property of 60 successful April 2020 aft investigating affirmative for Covid.

Mr Akinnola said helium was acrophobic Mr Hancock was utilizing the enquiry to “rehabilitate his nationalist image”.

He said: “I deliberation he’s travel crossed somewhat combative, somewhat defensive, it’s felt, you know, aggregate times the practice for the enquiry has had to inquire him to fto her decorativeness the question and not interrupt, it conscionable makes maine question like, what is the intent for him successful giving evidence?

“Because the constituent of this wounded is to larn from mistakes and to prevention lives, and I interest that he’s trying to usage this accidental to rehabilitate his nationalist image.

“I consciousness similar we’ve heard a batch astir however good helium did, however helium did everything right, and however it was different people’s responsibility that things went wrong.”

He added: “I’m present to enactment arsenic a dependable for radical who can’t speak. It’s a run for justness and I judge that justness requires change.

“It requires a change, and the alteration that we privation to spot is making a nine that is fairer and much prepared and truthful that erstwhile situation hits, it’s not the aforesaid radical again and again who are having to carnivore the brunt of it, portion others, you know, person the luxury of attending parties and seeing themselves arsenic abstracted from society.”

Barbara Herbert, from Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK, said: “Politicians are utilizing the enquiry to support their legacies, portion bereaved families are being excluded from giving evidence.

“Our grounds isn’t astir sob stories, it is astir honouring the bequest of our loved ones by making definite lessons are learned from the ways successful which they died.

“We hoped successful Module Three that determination would beryllium much country for families to talk astir the interaction of the pandemic connected wellness systems and those who should person been protected by those systems. But lone 2 of our witnesses person been called to springiness evidence.”

Mandy Phillips, who booed astatine Mr Hancock arsenic helium walked into the UK Covid-19 Inquiry building, said she believes helium “should ne'er person been wellness secretary”.

Ms Phillips, 63, who is simply a subordinate of the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice radical from Thames Ditton successful Surrey, said “we didn’t larn capable from the archetypal (Coronavirus) wave”.

She added: “So I privation to travel and I privation to clasp him to account, basically. And I deliberation it is important that we conscionable beryllium there, and successful my lawsuit I volition conscionable beryllium astatine the backmost and glare astatine him basically.”

Sarah Steven, 52, a subordinate of the radical Clinically Vulnerable Families, told the PA quality bureau extracurricular the UK Covid-19 Inquiry that “today is truly cardinal for america but we’re not expecting to perceive thing we don’t already know”.

Ms Steven, who was clinically susceptible during the pandemic, described the extremity of lockdown rules successful July 2021 arsenic similar “falling disconnected a cliff edge” with “no support”.

Another subordinate of the group, Andrea Barrett, 30, said she caught Covid, it developed into agelong Covid, and present she is not capable to work.

During Mr Hancock’s evidence, astir 2 twelve radical watched from the nationalist country of the Covid-19 inquiry.

Some held pictures of loved ones and made notes, portion others wiped distant tears erstwhile a video of grounds from Professor Kevin Fong, erstwhile nationalist objective advisor successful exigency preparedness resilience and response, was played to the inquiry, arsenic helium described what the concern successful 1 infirmary was similar during the pandemic.