Covid deaths caused by ‘government incompetence, chaos and callousness’, bereaved families say

The Covid-19 Inquiry heard the last of the evidence from those whose relatives died during the pandemic NewsUKHome NewsCovid deaths caused by ‘government incompetence, chaos and callousness’, bereaved families sayThe Covid-19 Inquiry heard the last of the evidence from those whose relatives died during the pandemicAine Fox Wednesday 04 March 2026 16:45 GMTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover'You try': Frustrated Boris Johnson loses cool at Covid inquiryYour support helps us to tell the storyRead moreSupport NowFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. 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We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreBereaved families have vowed to continue their fight for justice as the UK Covid-19 Inquiry heard its final witness testimony this week.Wednesday marked the conclusion of evidence from those who lost loved ones during the pandemic, a moment described as belonging to "many people". The Covid Bereaved Families for Justice (CBFFJ) campaign group highlighted the crucial role of "thousands bereaved by Covid across the country who came together and refused to be silent" in reaching this stage.Outside the inquiry's London hearing centre, relatives gathered, holding photographs of those they had lost, before observing a minute of silence in their memory.The hearings for the inquiry’s tenth and final module, which has focused on the pandemic’s profound impact on society, are set to conclude on Thursday with the delivery of lawyers’ closing statements.open image in galleryA report published in November last year found chaos at the heart of government and a failure to take Covid-19 seriously cost 23,000 lives in the first wave of the pandemic (Liam McBurney/PA Wire)The impact of lockdowns on domestic abuse victims, the homeless and bereaved unable to attend loved ones’ funerals were among the issues examined as part of the inquiry’s last section.Matt Fowler, co-founder of CBFFJ UK and the first person to paint a heart on the National Covid Memorial Wall in London, pledged the group’s work will carry on.Speaking outside the inquiry on Wednesday, he told those gathered: “Over the years, we have heard hundreds of hours of evidence, and although only two of 10 reports have been published so far, the inquiry’s verdict on those in power during the pandemic has already been utterly damning.“Thousands of lives cut short because of government incompetence, chaos and callousness.“That is what this inquiry has exposed. And that truth is now on the public record.”The inquiry was formally launched in July 2022 and a report published in November last year found chaos at the heart of government and a failure to take Covid-19 seriously cost 23,000 lives in the first wave of the pandemic.Inquiry chairwoman Baroness Heather Hallett’s report on the government response to Covid accused then-prime minister Boris Johnson of being too “optimistic” in his outlook in the early months of 2020.He presided over a “toxic” culture in No 10 and regularly changed his mind, while Cabinet members including then-health secretary Matt Hancock plus key scientists all failed to act with the urgency needed to tackle the virus, her report concluded.open image in galleryThe hearings for the inquiry’s tenth and final module, which has focused on the pandemic’s profound impact on society, are set to conclude on Thursday (Liam McBurney/PA Wire)While public hearings are concluding this week, further reports will be published in the coming months from the inquiry’s other modules, including on healthcare systems, vaccines and therapeutics, procurement, the care sector as well as the test, trace and isolate system.Mr Fowler said future reports “will give us a blueprint for saving lives”.He added: “Our job now is to ensure the blueprint turns into action. Another crisis is inevitable. It is a question of when, not if, and despite more than five years having passed since the start of the pandemic, we are still not prepared.“So the Government must use the blueprint this inquiry provides to change the country for the better, to take brave, decisive, urgent action.”Campaigners said they will “pursue accountability for the deaths of our loved ones through every route available to us” and to “ensure that the country continues to remember thos