Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

Boris Johnson has committed to a full independent inquiry into the coronavirus crisis.

And we know from inquiries we've seen before - whether it's the Iraq inquiry or the Leveson inquiry into the media, or Bloody Sunday into the army in Northern Ireland - they have the potential to shape and shatter the reputations of the most powerful and to probe their innermost thinking and calculations in moments of crisis.

But there are an awful lot of unanswered questions.

We still don't really know what the prime minister meant when he talked about an independent inquiry - it could be a full blown judge-led inquiry, or it could be a much lower calibre investigation led by an academic or maybe a select committee.

We don't know the timeframe. The prime minister has indicated he does not think an inquiry should be held while we're still grappling with coronavirus. So it could be months, even years away if we're having to wait to actually eliminate the virus or get a vaccine.

And we don't know the remit of the inquiry or the authority it will have; will it be the sort of inquiry where witnesses are questioned under oath by barristers.

With the number of deaths from coronavirus, the catastrophe that has inflicted on care homes, and because it's involved the government imposing restrictions on us never seen before in peacetime, my sense is it will have to be a similar sort of inquiry to that into the Iraq war.

Image source, HoC

Today's session of Prime Minister's Questions - the penultimate before the parliament's summer break - has ended. Here's what happened:

• Boris Johnson pledged that there will be an "independent inquiry" into the coronavirus pandemic
• But the PM said now was not the time to devote "huge amounts of official time" to an investigation
• He said he would examine the idea of a scrappage scheme for old and polluting aircraft amid demands to support airlines
• Sir Keir Starmer said struggling sectors such as aviation required "sector-specific" support to prevent thousands of job cuts
• The Labour leader also criticised the NHS Test and Trace system, which he said had not proved to be a "stunning success"

Reality Check

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said that the proportion of people who had been identified as 'at risk' by the test and trace system had been going down.

He is right. In the first two weeks of the contact tracing system, external, 90.6% of people in England who were identified as close contacts of people who had tested positive for coronavirus were contacted and told to isolate.

In the most recent week for which we have figures, 25 June to 1 July, that figure had fallen to 70.8%.

You can read more about how the system works here

House of Commons
Parliament

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Labour's Helen Hayes asks about the "scourge" of knife crime following the stabbing of a teenager in her Dulwich constituency.

She asks the PM whether he will commit to taking a "public health approach" to violent crime - and implement the recommendations of a report due soon from the Youth Violence Commission.

In reply Boris Johnson says he agrees with the need for a "cross-departmental medical approach".

But he also says there is a need for a "tough policing solution" - and says this has diminshed under Labour London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

He says this should include stop and search powers for police - which he says is supported by the families of victims.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Conservative MP Sir Graham Brady says some people are "anxious to return to work" and some people are as "happy" working from home. He asks if the prime minister agrees with him that the worst reason for people to stay at home is for people to follow "blanket government advice that takes no account of safety".

Mr Johnson says it is "important" that business should be "carried on". He says businesses need to have consultation with their workers on whether it is safe for them to return to workplaces.

Reality Check

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the government “is engaged in record investments in the NHS – £34bn”.

The figure the prime minister is using is known as a ‘cash terms’ figure as it does not take into account inflation (or rising prices).

In fact, the government’s own figures , externalsay the NHS budget will actually be £20.5bn larger by 2023-24, after inflation is taken into account.

This would see the annual budget increase by 3.4% a year, which is significantly lower than the increases of 6% seen in some years under the Blair and Brown Labour governments, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Labour's Tracy Brabin says her constituency needs "enhanced support", as workers are on statutory sick pay due to a local outbreak. She asks for daily postcode data on which areas are heavily hit and for a "package of support" for local businesses.

The prime minister says that the government is giving councils as much data as they can, to make sure "the whole country can start to get back to work".

House of Commons
Parliament

Earlier, Conservative MP Jack Lopresti asks about support for jobs in the the "crucial" aviation sector in south-west England.

He says a "wide-ranging support package" should include a scrappage scheme for "old and highly polluting" aircraft.

In reply Boris Johnson says he will "examine the idea of a scrappage scheme" for such aircraft.

He adds that the government is investing £3.9bn into an aerospace technology institute.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Labour's Paul Blomfield asks about the government's plans for a post-Brexit immigration system.

He says the new system will "prevent people" from coming to work in the care sector.

He asks whether the government will put up extra cash to give care workers a pay rise, as recommended by a committee.

The prime minister says the government has raised the minimum wage and given emergency funding of £3.2bn to councils in England.

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Parliament

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Acting Lib Dem leader Sir Edward Davey asks the PM to commit "in principle" to holding a public inquiry into the pandemic.

He says Mr Johnson has previously said it is too soon for one - but he advocated one into the Iraq War "just months" after the conflict started.

Again, the prime minister says now is not the time to devote "huge amounts of official time" to an inquiry when the UK is "in the middle" of a pandemic.

But he adds: "we will have an independent inquiry into what happened".

House of Commons
Parliament

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The SNP's Westminster Leader Ian Blackford says that the government will tomorrow publish legislation which he says will be a "power grab" over Scotland's affairs. He asks if the prime minister is "once again" ignoring the wishes of the Scottish people and launching a "hostile" act against devolution.

Mr Johnson says that UK nations are getting more power in one generation than in "living memory". He says that the SNP want to hand power in Scotland "back to Brussels".

Mr Blackford replies to say that the government needs to respect the result of the Scottish Parliament referendum in 1997. He says Scotland "has the right" to have decisions taken by those elected by Scots, rather than "unelected bureaucrats".

Mr Johnson says that in 2014 Scotland voted to not leave the United Kingdom.

Reality Check

Labour leader Keir Starmer asked Prime Minister Boris Johnson about plans to cope with a potential second wave of Covid-19 infections this winter.

A scientific report released this week said a second wave could be worse than the first.

We looked at the possibility of a second wave of coronavirus here

House of Commons
Parliament

Sir Keir says it is "perfectly possible to support track and trace and point out the problems". He says it is "obviously not true" that track and trace is a "stunning success", as Mr Johnson claims.

He asks what the prime minister would like to say to relatives of those who have died from coronavirus.

Boris Johnson says "we will do absolutely everything in our power to prevent a second spike in this epidemic." He says this is why there is an "unprecedented" track and trace system and record investment in the NHS.

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Parliament

Sir Keir says the proportion of people being contacted by the test and trace system "has done down" every week.

He asks the PM directly whether he has read the scientists' report published earlier this week.

Boris Johnson replies that he is "of course aware of the report".

He adds the government is taking "every reasonable step" in its preparations for a possible resurgence of the virus.

He accuses the Labour leader of knocking people's confidence in the tracing system, schools, public transport and other areas.

Image source, HoC

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Labour's Sir Keir Starmer says it is "vital" that the UK government learns from the current wave of the pandemic. He says testing and tracing capacity will need to be "significantly expanded" to work properly during a winter spike.

He asks what assurances the prime minister can give to ensure track and trace will work properly by September.

Boris Johnson says the track and trace system is working at "unprecedented scale". He says it is doing "fantastic work" and 80% of contacts are found. He says the UK's test and trace system is as good as "any other system anywhere else in the world".