Particle.news
Download on the App Store
10 ARTICLES
·
1h ago

Johnson and Cummings Denounce Hallett Covid Inquiry After Report Links Delay to 23,000 Avoidable Deaths

Bereaved families demand accountability following findings of a toxic Downing Street culture.

Image
Image
CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND - JANUARY 20: Sister Jan Brooks, 58, is assisted by medical staff at Royal Papworth hospital as they turn a 36 year old COVID-19 patient in the Critical care unit, Royal Papworth Hospital on January 20, 2021 in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Medical staff at Royal Papworth hospital are tending to COVID-19 patients in four areas which have been reallocated to deal with a surge in COVID patients: 2 critical care provision areas, and 2 non-critical care areas. Royal Papworth's critical care is normally open to 32-34 patients, and it is currently treating 46 patients. They are operating at close to 150% of capacity. Royal Papworth Hospital is the specialist heart and lung hospital for the East of England and parts of north and east London, and is one of five hospitals in England with ECMO service for patients in acute severe respiratory failure. ECMO machine - Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation - pumps and oxygenates a patient's blood outside the body—which essentially does the job of the lungs externally in order to give the body a chance to rest and recover. The United Kingdom has suffered one Europe's highest death rates from covid-19. (Photo by Lynsey Addario/Getty Images)
SHIPLEY, WEST YORKSHIRE - MAY 26: Staff of Guardian Funerals transport the casket of Covid-19 victim Dennis Clapham, aged 62, to Nab Wood Crematorium on May 26, 2020 in Shipley, West Yorkshire. His sister Ann Clapham cared for him whilst he suffered from ill health at home. He later moved into a care home where he could get the extra help he needed. Dennis and Ann had planned his funeral arrangements two years ago. Guardian Funerals is a family-owned funeral service in Shipley, West Yorkshire, that, like many such providers, has confronted the unique challenges presented by Covid-19. There are new rules for how the deceased are handled and how family members can commemorate the deceased prior to burial or cremation -- restrictions that can make a tough situation even tougher. The home's director, Alison Barrington, is a third-generation undertaker who believes that the pastoral element of being a funeral director is as important to bereaved families as the professional undertaker services that they provide. Alison, who works alongside her husband Daniel and a small team, believes that people are failing to associate the graphs and figures describing the Covid-19 death toll with the human victims of the crisis and the devastating effect it has had on families across the world. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Overview

  • The inquiry’s second report concludes the UK acted too slowly in early 2020, with modelling indicating roughly 23,000 fewer first‑wave deaths in England if lockdown had begun a week earlier.
  • Baroness Heather Hallett finds the government underprepared and indecisive, citing failures on testing, PPE and early interventions that contributed to overwhelmed hospitals.
  • Hallett stresses the inquiry does not advocate national lockdowns, stating quicker decisions could have avoided or shortened them and outlining recommendations on planning, coordination, communication and parliamentary scrutiny.
  • Boris Johnson dismisses the report as incoherent and says his government did its best on the scientific advice, while Dominic Cummings attacks the inquiry’s integrity and urges punitive measures against its leaders.
  • Campaign groups representing bereaved families say the report vindicates their concerns and call for concrete accountability, as the inquiry’s criticism highlights offensive conduct and a culture of fear in No 10.