Keith is now taking us through a timeline of the emergence of Covid in January 2020.

He mentions how on January 30 2022, a World Health Organization meeting declared a public health emergency. Keith says it is notable that there were no recommendations for restrictions on travel at that point.

He reports that the first infections in the UK were recorded on 28 February.

Keith says the pandemic left in its wake "death, misery and incalculable loss as the impact film we just seen demonstrated so poignantly".

The pandemic ended and changed lives on a scale unseen in modern history, he continues.

"No inquiry, however large or however long, could possibly inquire into all aspects of the pandemic that wrought such damage," Keith continues.

"You have instead determined, that it will focus on those areas of the pandemic and the United Kingdom's response to it, that have caused the greatest public concern."

He adds that this, if need be, can help prepare if a similar situation happens again.

Hugo Keith KC, chief counsel for the inquiry, is speaking now.

"We will likely never know how the severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2, the virus that caused the covid-19 pandemic, was first transmitted to the human race," he begins.

He continues by discussing the possibilities, from a leak of the virus being transported or from animals.

"We will also likely never know when the first human infection occurred."

The video has now ended, and Hallett asks if those who left the room while it was playing can be asked to return so the hearing can assemble again.

Now, we will hear from legal representatives as they address the inquiry.

In the video we’re hearing some emotional testimony from family members of those who died from Covid.

This includes Catherine, from Wales, whose 86-year-old father died in a care home. She describes standing outside his window “in the icy, sleety rain” as he died. Covid restrictions in place at various points during the pandemic prohibited people from spending time with loved ones being treated in hospital.

Brenda from Northern Ireland says her mother was one of the first to die at the start of the first lockdown in March 2020. “Mum was our world,” she says.

Before the screening begins, Hallett gives families the opportunity to leave the room during the 17-minute film and says there will be a 30-second warning before the first images appear.

The hearing is now showing the film.

"So many people died and so many people suffered, it is only right that we find various ways to commemorate them," Hallett continues.

In a moment, the inquiry will watch people across the UK talk about how the Covid pandemic affected them.

This first film is about bereavement, and Hallett calls it "extremely moving".

She thanks those who took part in the filming, saying: "I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for them to relive those experiences in front of a camera."

Addressing critics of the inquiry, Hallett says she hopes they'll understand the difficult balance she has had to strike.

"I hope they will understand that I am listening to them, their loss will be recognised, they will be able to contribute to the inquiry."

Hallett says she will publish reports "as we go along", section by section.

"My plan is now to publish reports as we go along so that when the hearings for this module finish, work will begin on preparing a report for this module," she says.

Lady Hallett says the inquiry will take time to give the British public the inquiry it deserves.

She continues: "It takes time and a great deal of preparation."

She says an extraordinary amount of work has been prepared and thanks those involved.

Lady Hallett has just begun her opening statement. She says she was met with a dignified vigil outside where the hearings are being held.

"Their grief is obvious to all," she says.

The public hearings into the Covid inquiry are set to begin in the next few minutes.

The session will begin with an opening statement from inquiry chair Lady Hallett.

We'll bring you all the key lines as we get them.

You'll be able to watch by pressing play above.

Image source, PA Media

Although a full list of witnesses has not been published, senior government ministers and officials are expected to give evidence to the inquiry under oath.

Sir Chris Whitty, the UK government's chief medical adviser during the pandemic, and Sir Patrick Vallance, chief scientific adviser, are likely to appear.

Members of the public have also been invited to share their experiences through the inquiry's Every Story Matters, external project.

Actor Lorelei King's husband, Vince, died in 2020 after contracting Covid in a care home.

King, who starred in Notting Hill and TV shows including Jonathan Creek, said bereaved families wanted answers from the inquiry and recommendations in place for "when something like this happens again".

Speaking on behalf of the Covid: 19 Bereaved Families For Justice group, she told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Our beloved dead have paid the highest price and not to learn from that would be a sin.

"It would give us a sense of meaning if at least our loved ones deaths could go to... helping make recommendations for the future."

Speaking about her husband who had early onset dementia, King added: "He was so fit, so it wasn't physical weakness on his part, but it was absolutely devastating the way it [Covid] ran through care homes and we lost so many of those older, precious people."

Image source, Reuters

• It is being chaired by Baroness Hallett - a former Court of Appeal judge who previously led the inquests into the 7 July London bombings in 2005
• Witnesses will be announced each week, but we expect to hear from key politicians, scientists, unions, health and care organisations, Covid bereavement groups and more
• Members of the public are being encouraged to share their stories with the inquiry by filling in this form online, external
• No-one will be found guilty or innocent during this inquiry
• This is about going through what happened and learning lessons
• Any recommendations made by the inquiry at the end of this process do not have to be adopted by governments

Ashitha Nagesh
BBC News Community Affairs Correspondent

In 2021, Matt Fowler (above) drew a small red heart on a patch of wall by the Thames, in front of St Thomas’s Hospital and directly facing the Houses of Parliament.

Inside were the initials “IF” - Ian Fowler. He did it in memory of his dad, who had died a year earlier of Covid-19. He was 56 years old.

“It’s about change,” says Matt of the inquiry. “It’s about looking at all of the mistakes that we made during the pandemic… and putting something in place to prevent those from reoccurring.”

For Matt, it’s also important to pay tribute those who died.

Since drawing that heart two years ago, more than 200,000 other hearts have surrounded it - each representing someone who died in the pandemic. The wall has been recognised as a national memorial to the victims of Covid-19.

“Dad’s heart was the first one, but it’s not big and flashy. Dad’s heart is a small part of a much bigger tragedy,” Matt tells me.

“Although dad was a big part of my life, and the centre of my little world, all of these other hearts represent the centre of everybody else’s.”

Why the first module - preparedness - is crucialpublished at 08:40 British Summer Time 13 June 2023

08:40 BST 13 June 2023

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

The public inquiry is split into six modules. It starts by looking at how well prepared the UK was.

Before Covid hit, the UK was judged to be one of the best prepared for a pandemic. It may have been if it had been flu.

But many experts are agreed the UK – and much of western Europe and North America for that matter - were found wanting in a coronavirus pandemic.

A lack of testing infrastructure meant community testing was abandoned in March 2020, just as Covid was taking off. It was May before a large scale national contact tracing system could be set up.

Jeremy Hunt - who was chair of the House of Commons’ health committee during the pandemic - described it as a“major blind spot”. He said lessons should be learned from some Asian countries that were able to slow the spread of Covid early on.

Lawyers representing the Covid Bereaved Families for Justice group believe this module is the most important – if the UK had been better prepared, some of the difficult decisions in terms of restrictions may not have had to be taken.

Ashitha Nagesh
BBC News Community Affairs Correspondent

Rivka Gottlieb’s dad Michael became ill with Covid on 22 March 2020 - just one day before the UK went into its first lockdown.

He died two weeks later.

“His greatest joy was being with his grandchildren… this weekend was particularly hard for us because it was my nephew’s Bar Mitzvah. He would have loved to be there,” she tells me.

Rivka was part of the campaign that called for a public inquiry into Covid-19 in the UK.

Now the inquiry’s first public hearing is here - but although Rivka’s pleased it’s happening, it also feels “really late”.

“It feels like it’s taken far too long. People are still dying of Covid - but if you look around it’s like it never happened. I do understand the need for people to move on, but we need to learn those lessons.”

How far have other countries got with inquiries?published at 08:26 British Summer Time 13 June 2023

08:26 BST 13 June 2023

Some countries have got further with their inquiries.

Sweden started so early that it had to hold hearings remotely due to Covid restrictions.

It published its final report in February 2022. Norway and the Netherlands have also had reports published by their inquiries.

The Scottish inquiry - which is separate to the UK's - appointed a new chief executive earlier in the week and New Zealand’s inquiry seems to be at about the same stage as the UK's.

But not many other countries have had independent inquiries so far. The US, for example, has not set up a Covid commission, despite the efforts of some members of Congress.

And in Canada there is a National Citizen’s Inquiry because the government did not commission one.