MPs have criticised the COVID Inquiry for being heavily weighted towards organisations and individuals that advocated for earlier or harder lockdowns.
A group of 21 MPs and peers have voiced their concerns in a letter to the inquiry chairman that it is “surprising” that there appears to be no representation of the many families bereaved because of the impact of lockdowns.
In a wide-reaching probe, it will gather evidence on the preparedness of hospitals and PPE spending, and look at the impact of the virus on those with protected characteristics.
However, a group of 21 MPs and peers said in a letter to the inquiry chairman Baroness Hallett, seen by The Epoch Times, that it is “critical that the Inquiry considers a diverse range of views and perspectives on the pandemic response.”
The letter includes signatures by former Brexit negotiator Lord Frost, chairman of the 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady, MP Philip Davies, Lord Moyan, Baroness Fox of Buckley, Baroness Morrissey, and more.
“There is otherwise a serious risk that the Inquiry could become inadvertently blinded to areas of important investigation,” they added.
‘Favour Lockdowns’
Part of the contention is Module 2, a key part of the inquiry that examines decisions taken by the prime minister and the Cabinet, as advised by the civil service, senior political, scientific, and medical advisers, and relevant Cabinet sub-committees.“We are concerned that the composition of core participants for Module 2 appears to be heavily weighted towards organisations and individuals which can fairly be presumed either to favour lockdowns as a pandemic policy or else to have understandable personal reasons to advocate for earlier and/or harder lockdowns — for example, core Government Departments, Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice and Imperial College of Science, Tech, and Medicine,” they wrote.
They said it is “quite proper” that Module 2 includes groups representing those “bereaved due to covid, and those affected by ‘long covid.’”
But the letter also asks inquiry chairman Baroness Hallett why there appears to be “no representation of the many families bereaved due to the impact of lockdowns including cancelled or delayed medical appointments, suspension of child welfare safeguards, adverse reactions to covid-19 vaccines, and other unexplained deaths.”
It added, “Also conspicuous by its absence is any representation of the UK industries that were resistant to, and dramatically affected by, lockdowns, such as the hospitality, tourism and retail sectors.”
The organisation UsforThem is a campaigning group that advocated for children to be prioritised during the COVID-19 pandemic, and continues to lobby for children’s well-being.
“Not only is the COVID Inquiry likely to cost in excess of £100 million [$118 million], it will set the path for pandemic responses of the future,” UsforThem co-founder Molly Kingsley told The Epoch Times by email.
“According to the National Audit Office, the COVID response cost an eye-watering £376 billion [$446 billion] and with excess deaths now higher than they were for the equivalent periods in 2020 and 21 it is not easy to see how this was money well spent,” she said.
“The response involved an unprecedented infringement of personal liberties and children’s rights to an education, and raised serious, and as yet unanswered questions, about breaches of medical ethics including coercive and censorious public health strategies. It’s critical that the group of core participants includes sufficient diversity of viewpoints and thought to shine a light on these critical issues,” added Kingsley.
The inquiry’s public hearings are not due to start until 2023. The probe has full powers to compel the production of documents and to summon witnesses to give evidence under oath.
A spokesman for the inquiry told The Epoch Times by email: “Organisations and individuals need to apply to be Core Participants and the Inquiry is only able to appoint Core Participants based on the applications it receives.
“The Chair then carefully considers all applications and makes decisions in accordance with Rule 5 of the Inquiry Rules 2006.”
“The Inquiry is taking a modular approach to its investigations to ensure each issue is examined in depth, and will announce further modules in the lifetime of the Inquiry. This means that there will be further opportunities for individuals and organisations to apply for Core Participant status at a later stage,” he said.
“Individuals and organisations do not need Core Participant status to be called to give evidence or to play a role in the Inquiry. The Inquiry has not yet announced a witness timetable for any of its hearings,” he added.
