David Cameron’s Covid Inquiry Grilling: Why Was the UK Ill-Prepared for the Pandemic in 2020?
- Covid Inquiry commences with senior politicians providing evidence on emergency plans
David Cameron is facing tough questions at the Covid Inquiry today regarding the UK’s lack of preparedness when the pandemic struck in 2020.
The former Prime Minister will be questioned about the emergency plans and response capacity that were in place during his tenure at Downing Street.
Mr. Cameron is the first senior politician to testify in the public sessions of the inquiry. This week, George Osborne and Jeremy Hunt will also undergo interrogation regarding their roles in government in the decade leading up to the coronavirus outbreak.
Chaired by Baroness Hallett, the inquiry aims to assess the UK’s preparedness for the pandemic, including the government’s economic policies in the years prior to its emergence.
Last week, the inquiry heard that Britain entered the crisis with depleted public services and widening health disparities.
David Cameron arriving at the Coviq Inquiry for his evidence session this morning
A jointly prepared report by Prof Sir Michael Marmot, an expert in epidemiology and director of the University College London Institute of Health Equity, and Prof Clare Bambra, an expert in public health from Newcastle University, highlighted how austerity policies impacted the nation’s health leading up to the pandemic.
The duration of each witness’s testimony remains unclear.
The British Medical Association (BMA) has called for Mr. Cameron and Mr. Osborne to be questioned about the dire state of the NHS resulting from a decade of budget cuts.
Professor Philip Banfield, Chair of the BMA Council, stated before today’s hearing that there is no doubt that underfunding over the past decade put both healthcare workers and patients at risk.
In a blog on the union’s website, he wrote: ‘I have witnessed firsthand the damage caused by years of austerity and a lack of focus on public health. The UK was severely ill-prepared when Covid struck, and this had disastrous consequences for the doctors I represent and the millions who suffered from the virus.
‘It is therefore crucial that Cameron, Osborne, and Hunt are held accountable for the decisions that left us so unprepared, and to ensure that the same mistakes are not repeated in the face of future health emergencies.’
He added: ‘The question for Cameron, Osborne, and Hunt must be: how did you allow the NHS and public health to deteriorate to such an
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Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
