It’s clear from the Covid Inquiry that the Government failed us during the pandemic - Yorkshire Post Letters

Now we are coming to the critical part of the Covid 19 Inquiry where evidence is being given about the situation in government at the beginning of the pandemic, the full horror of the chaos at number 10 has been laid bare.

It was evident to me, and I suspect many other people, that what was needed much earlier was decisive, strong government. But there was no plan, there was no listening to scientific facts, there was conflict, infighting and incompetence, and there was too much time being spent on the optics of certain rules and policies, particularly to the right-leaning press and the more extreme wing of the Conservative party.

We heard what most of us already knew – that Boris Johnson was not the right kind of person we needed at the head of government – his hands-off, cavalier and cruel attitude to a global health crisis was typical of what we should have expected.

The fact that he missed vital meetings and changed his mind like the wind should surprise no one. What we also heard was his callous attitude to the old and vulnerable and his now famous line “let the bodies pile high”. His breaking of the rules, along with so many in Number 10, is a slap in the face to the many bereaved families and those suffering the effects of long covid.

The parties and the rule breaking went on at Number 10 when people could not visit their dying loved ones, when people were dying in hospitals and care homes and when only a few people could attend funerals.

The behaviour of Boris Johnson and other people in his inner circle was unforgivable. Their actions made a terrible situation much worse. Sadly, there will probably be no justice for the families of those who died, this is an inquiry not a trial, but lessons need to be learned for the future. We can only hope that for all our sakes, future governments learn from this and put public health before profit.