"Today I was in the House not only for the statement on Israel-Gaza, but also the important statement on the Covid-19 inquiry.
This is an extremely sobering report and I want to share my gratitude to Lady Hallett and her team for the work that they have done and to all the witnesses who gave evidence, particularly those who had experienced loss and trauma. The evidence they have provided will not have been easy, but it is vital.
This module, the first of nine, is not only a hugely important piece of work, but the least this country owes to those who lost loved ones in the course of the pandemic. We must all consider it in the spirit in which Lady Hallett has put forward her recommendations.
Edward Argar MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice said:
“The work already done since the pandemic to improve resilience in this country and ensure that we are better prepared for the next one. We started that work in government, having announced the largest overhaul of our resilience structures in decades. We created the resilience directorate within the Cabinet Office, breaking it out from day-to-day crisis management so that it could focus on resilience, horizon scanning and better preparedness.
We set up the resilience academy to increase and improve the training of Ministers, MPs, civil servants and all those in civil society who respond to crises. We also announced a new national exercising programme to test our systems.”
This inquiry is important as there will be many more lessons still to learn. It is incredibly important for our country, this Government and any future Government that we learn the lessons to ensure that we are ready for future pandemics."
