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Image source, PA Media
A volunteer from the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice campaign group paints a heart on the National Covid Memorial Wall opposite the Palace of Westminster in central London
Lessons will be learned about the UK's handling of Covid before another pandemic strikes, the chair of the public inquiry says.
Baroness Hallett promised to be "fair and robust" as she officially opened the public inquiry.
She did not give a timeframe for completing it, but said she would conduct it as quickly as possible.
She said those who had suffered the most deserved to know if more could have been done.
The inquiry has the power to compel witnesses to give evidence and release documents, but cannot prosecute or fine anyone.
The former High Court judge said lives had been lost, education harmed, businesses folded and mental and physical health had suffered.
"Every person has had their life changed to some extent.
"Those who have suffered the most will want to know if any more could have been done to reduce their suffering."
She said carrying out a public inquiry was a substantial task that would take time and have a significant cost.
But she added: "I am determined to undertake the inquiry as speedily as possible so lessons can be learnt before another pandemic strikes."
Public hearings will not begin until next spring. But in opening the public inquiry with a recorded statement released to the media, Baroness Hallett identified the key topics the inquiry would be looking at first.
- how well prepared the UK was for a coronavirus pandemic
- the response to the pandemic when it hit
- the decision to introduce a lockdown and restrictions on the public as well as the scientific expertise that fed into that
Research will be carried out this year including taking evidence from experts, which will start from September.
Several reports have already put the UK government's handling of the pandemic under the spotlight.
Last October, a report by MPs on the Health and Social Care Committee and the Science and Technology Committee said the UK's failure to do more to stop Covid spreading early in the pandemic was one of the country's worst public health failures.
And a report by spending watchdog the National Audit Office last November found ministers were not properly prepared for a pandemic like Covid, and lacked detailed plans on shielding, job support schemes and school disruption.
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