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Boris Johnson confirms Public Inquiry into Pandemic will be held in Spring 2022

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brad465

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Confirmed in this breaking news article:


An independent public inquiry into the handling of the coronavirus pandemic will be held in Spring 2022, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told MPs.


While this is a year off, this might be advantageous to see if the fallout from covid gets captured between now and then, but what is found out and discussed is anyone's guess right now.
 
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Ediswan

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To begin in spring 2022. I have not yet spotted any promise or prediction of when it would report.
 

HSTEd

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Given Poland appears likely to pass us in the next couple of days, and Britain continues to slip down the "per capita deaths" table, it is clear why the beginniing of the inquiry is delayed.
 

brad465

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Given Poland appears likely to pass us in the next couple of days, and Britain continues to slip down the "per capita deaths" table, it is clear why the beginniing of the inquiry is delayed.
Partly that, but I think it's more to do with the fact that we'll easily have another general election by the time an inquiry reports, and Johnson himself could easily escape politics well before it reports too and be on the post-PM gravy train no problem.
 

Peter Mugridge

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To begin in spring 2022. I have not yet spotted any promise or prediction of when it would report.

The average length of time for a public inquiry to report is 2½ years.

For a more complex subject with a lot of factors and witnesses - as this is likely to be - they can take way over the average. I think we can be confident it won't report until after the next election.
 

Gloster

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It wouldn’t surprise me if much of the inquiry is held in camera for (fill in something or other here, please, Matt) reasons. A few mildly embarrassing details might be allowed to slip out to give the appearance of thoroughness and impartiality, together with even the tiniest detail that makes the government look good. (There probably are one or two hidden somewhere in there.)
 

Ianno87

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To begin in spring 2022. I have not yet spotted any promise or prediction of when it would report.

I'd rather it took as long as it needs to gather the right evidence and draw the correct conclusions it needs to. This is important stuff.
 

MikeWM

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I could save them an awful lot of time and money by predicting the outcome right now:

'The government did most of the right things, following the scientific advice, except it should have locked down faster and harder. Next time something like this happens it must lock down faster and harder.'

Which is rubbish, but I'll bet that's exactly what the bottom-line will be. Am I cynical about this - yes.
 

Purple Orange

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I could save them an awful lot of time and money by predicting the outcome right now:

'The government did most of the right things, following the scientific advice, except it should have locked down faster and harder. Next time something like this happens it must lock down faster and harder.'

Which is rubbish, but I'll bet that's exactly what the bottom-line will be. Am I cynical about this - yes.

And proper pandemic planning. We had a strategy for pandemic stockpiling and funding was cut by the Tories. Even the largest players in the funeral industry keep pandemic stock.
 

yorkie

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I'd rather it took as long as it needs to gather the right evidence and draw the correct conclusions it needs to. This is important stuff.
Exactly; the horrendous cost of lockdowns and restrictions needs to be better understood.

Also as time goes on and it becomes clearer that this virus cannot be eradicated but becomes a mild illness once people have immunity, it becomes clearer that a "Zero Covid" strategy would have been bonkers. Some people still believe in that nonsense now but by Spring 2022, even the most die-hard Zero Covid campaigners will have given up.
 

Nicholas Lewis

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Exactly; the horrendous cost of lockdowns and restrictions needs to be better understood.

Also as time goes on and it becomes clearer that this virus cannot be eradicated but becomes a mild illness once people have immunity, it becomes clearer that a "Zero Covid" strategy would have been bonkers. Some people still believe in that nonsense now but by Spring 2022, even the most die-hard Zero Covid campaigners will have given up.
Public Enquiries are just another excuse for well paid lawyers and consultants to make easy money witness the Grenfell Enquiry and many more before. As others say will take years to complete and no one will ever be held to account they will preach lessons will be learnt but they won't be implemented.

Shame on all politicians that witter on about the need for a public enquiry waste of time and money.
 

MikeWM

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And proper pandemic planning. We had a strategy for pandemic stockpiling and funding was cut by the Tories. Even the largest players in the funeral industry keep pandemic stock.

A good point, and something Jeremy Hunt appears to have somehow mostly avoided criticism for. We should not end up in such a position again.

There is a wider but similar question as to why we abandoned our well-established and well-evidenced pandemic plan entirely at some point in the rather narrow window between March 12th and 16th last year. We had a considered plan in place for a flu-like respiratory pandemic (causing the death of up to 700,000 people) based on the science of what we have known for decades about such pandemics. But for some reason we threw that out of the window and tried a lot of things never before attempted instead. In many respects, that 'why' is the most important question we need to be answered, because most of what has happened since flows from that.
 

big_rig

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I think the zero-covid/Independent SAGE lot should be careful with what they wish for with this. I get the impression they think an inquiry will basically be a victory lap for them (should've gone harder earlier, Serco Test and trace bad, NHS good etc) but I think it will end up being far more critical of their lot than they expect. As time goes by there will be more focus on how so much of what has been done has frankly been a waste of money that has achieved nothing (e.g test and trace, as SAGE have already basically admitted) or even been worse than doing nothing (ventilating everything that moves early last year). Not to mention we are starting to get to the pointy end of how precisely we are to pay for all of this, with some rude awakenings coming for, say, the rail industry as the dust settles..
 

Purple Orange

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I think the zero-covid/Independent SAGE lot should be careful with what they wish for with this. I get the impression they think an inquiry will basically be a victory lap for them (should've gone harder earlier, Serco Test and trace bad, NHS good etc) but I think it will end up being far more critical of their lot than they expect. As time goes by there will be more focus on how so much of what has been done has frankly been a waste of money that has achieved nothing (e.g test and trace, as SAGE have already basically admitted) or even been worse than doing nothing (ventilating everything that moves early last year). Not to mention we are starting to get to the pointy end of how precisely we are to pay for all of this, with some rude awakenings coming for, say, the rail industry as the dust settles..

How do you expect the pandemic debt to be paid down?
 

bramling

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I could save them an awful lot of time and money by predicting the outcome right now:

'The government did most of the right things, following the scientific advice, except it should have locked down faster and harder. Next time something like this happens it must lock down faster and harder.'

Which is rubbish, but I'll bet that's exactly what the bottom-line will be. Am I cynical about this - yes.

I think you’re right to be cynical. The inquiry is likely to be a total whitewash.
 

Jamesrob637

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Given Poland appears likely to pass us in the next couple of days, and Britain continues to slip down the "per capita deaths" table, it is clear why the beginniing of the inquiry is delayed.

We're only 8th in Europe now and with Poland and Croatia likely to leapfrog us, I can see that too.
 

Jonny

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How will they cope with having to deal with those of us who declined and/or will to be vaccinated?

(my first ^jab^ is overdue, and I am not planning on having it full stop. I'm planning on passing on the second as well).
 
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