Covid inquiry to take place within this Parliament, says PM

There will be a public inquiry into the government's handling of the Covid pandemic in the current parliamentary session, Boris Johnson has pledged.

Speaking on the first day of a new session of Parliament, the prime minister told MPs he had already made it clear an inquiry was "essential".

He was responding to a question from Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey "on behalf of bereaved families".

Mr Johnson had previously only said there would be an inquiry in future.

A session of Parliament is typically a year, but can be longer, with one recent session lasting two years.

The question about the inquiry came in the Commons debate after the Queen's Speech, which sets out the government's programme for the coming year.

Mr Johnson said: "I can certainly say that we will do that within this session. Yes, that's absolutely.

"I have made that clear before. I do believe it's essential that we have a full, proper public inquiry into the Covid pandemic."

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It was first time Mr Johnson had put a timeframe on when a public inquiry will be held and comes a day after he had confirmed the government had met its four tests for easing lockdown restrictions in England next week.

The prime minister said deaths and hospitalisations had dropped to their lowest level since last July.

The latest government data released on Tuesday shows a further 20 people have died in the UK within 28 days of a positive Covid test, and there have been 2,474 new cases.

A total of 18,088,385 people have now received both doses of a vaccine, while 35,587,348 - 67.6% of all adults - have had a first jab.

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Last month, Downing Street told a campaign group there was was "simply no capacity" for the government to divert resources to an "intensive" inquiry at the current time.

The Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK group has been lobbying Mr Johnson since last summer to meet them and to launch an urgent independent investigation into the pandemic.

Jo Goodman, co-founder of the group, said: "An inquiry must begin this summer. The prime minister may feel he can wait for answers, but bereaved families certainly can't.

"Learning lessons from the pandemic is critical to saving lives now and in the future."

She also urged Mr Johnson to commit to holding a statutory inquiry, where witnesses can be legally compelled to attend and give evidence under oath.

Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said: "We welcome this commitment and will hold the prime minister to it.

"It must be entirely open and truly independent, have the trust and confidence of bereaved families, and cannot be an exercise in the government marking its own homework."

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus urged the prime minister to set out a specific timeline and remit for the inquiry, with its vice-chairman, Tory MP Dan Poulter, calling for one focus to be Covid-related deaths in care homes.

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