UK Covid-19 Inquiry: A Costly and Prolonged Examination

The UK’s Covid-19 inquiry, initiated by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has been underway for nearly four years and is projected to exceed £200 million in cost. While intended to assess the nation’s response to the pandemic, critics question its effectiveness and purpose, suggesting it has largely restated the obvious and added little new understanding.

Key Findings and Criticisms

The inquiry’s third module, published in November 2023, highlighted that the government’s stay-at-home order may have inadvertently cost lives as thousands of individuals missed crucial medical care for conditions like cancer and heart attacks. Bereaved families have called for accountability and for Johnson to be barred from public life.

Previous modules have concluded that the UK was unprepared for a pandemic and that Johnson’s government was chaotic. Johnson himself acknowledged that planning for school closures should have begun sooner, though he defended the eventual decision as a necessary measure to control the virus. He also conceded that the algorithmic determination of exam results in summer 2020 was “a disaster.”

Missed Opportunities and Unanswered Questions

The inquiry has been criticized for avoiding more complex questions, such as the trade-offs between lockdowns and their broader consequences for the economy, public services, and overall health. It has also not thoroughly investigated the “lab leak” theory regarding the origins of Covid-19. Reports indicate the initial political response was “too little, too late,” potentially costing up to 23,000 lives in England during the first wave.

Comparison to Other Assessments

Some argue that other forums, such as the joint inquiry by the Commons health and science select committees in 2021, provided a more rapid and effective assessment of the pandemic response. While less comprehensive, this earlier report may have yielded equally important revelations without the extensive cost and duration of the official inquiry.

A Wider Pattern of Inquiries

The Covid-19 inquiry is part of a broader trend of numerous inquiries within the British state. As of November 2023, there were 27 announced or underway inquiries, the highest number ever. While some, like the inquiry into the Valdo Calocane case, have been swift and effective, others, such as the inquiry into the 1984 miners’ strike, focus on events from the distant past.

The Necessitate for Effective Inquiries

Experts suggest that effective inquiries should be fearless, time-limited, and governed by fixed budgets to avoid becoming expensive and irrelevant exercises. The inquiry’s ongoing nature suggests that the remaining seven modules are due to be published next year.