Covid Inquiry recap: Burnham says 'all hell broke loose' due to new restrictions

Date set for Boris Johnson's Covid Inquiry reckoning as he faces grilling under oath

Boris Johnson will be questioned under oath over his time in No10 as he’s hauled before the Covid Inquiry next week.

The former PM will give evidence across two days on Wednesday and Thursday, before Rishi Sunak appears the following week. Mr Johnson will face difficult questions, including over claims he said he would rather “let the bodies pile high” than impose another lockdown.

He previously denied to Parliament that he had made the remark, but his former chief-of-staff Lord Lister told the Inquiry earlier this month that he heard Mr Johnson say it during a meeting in September 2020.

Steve Rotheram says he was not informed people travelling from Wuhan would head through Liverpool

Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram tells Covid Inquiry "we weren't even informed" people travelling from Wuhan were going "going to travel through our area" to quarantine at Arrowe Park Hospital in February 2020.

Asked when he first found out about that, he says: "On the news".

Andy Burnham evidences concludes

The Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has finished giving evidence to the Covid Inquiry.

Next up is the Mayor of the Liverpool City Regions Steve Rotheram.

Burnham also accuses Government of 'discussing punishment beating for Greater Manchester'

Burnham accuses the Government of discussing a "punishment beating for Greater Manchester" after an argument over financial support for people unable to work during the pandemic.

The Greater Manchester mayor read from a minute of a meeting of the Government's "Covid-O" committee that said: "Lancashire should have a lighter set of measures imposed than Greater Manchester since they had shown a greater willingness to co-operate.

Richard 'shuts up' GMB guest who says Hancock 'deserved' being called 'd***head'

"Tougher measures should be imposed on Greater Manchester that day."

Mr Burnham added: "Because we stood up for people in our city region who would otherwise have really struggled had they gone into that lockdown without the funds to help them, because we took that stand they decided to make an example of us.

"It's unbelievable for me now to look at evidence saying they knew it didn't work, they knew Tier 3 didn't work.

"They knew that, but they were still going to impose it on us without enough financial support."

Matt Hancock knew Tier 3 restictions wouldn't work, Burnham claims

Andy Burnham now furious at Covid Inquiry on decision to impose Tier 3 restrictions in Nov 2020 at a meeting of gov Covid-O committee.

"It wasn't me that was behaving appallingly - it was the people in that room that were behaving appallingly"

"They were about to impose a policy on Greater Manchester that they knew didn't work".

"They sat in that room and they imposed a policy they had been advised by SAGE and others would not work".

Reading Matt Hancock's evidence, he quotes the then Health Sec saying: "I was in despair that we had announced a policy we knew would not work".

'All hell broke loose' when Greater Manchester was put under new restrictions, Burnham says

Andy Burnham says he recieved "minimal notice" from the then Health Secretary Matt Hancock when Greater Manchester was put under local restrictions in July 2020.

"This was as chatoic as it gets - he gave me an hour to speak to local leaders."

"What I remember is about 8 o'clock that night, the health secretary gave a very cursory announcement to a TV camera in 4 Millbank that we would be going under these restrictions and then all hell broke loose."

He says his Twitter feed "was absolutely inundated," with people concerned about whether they could go to work the following day.

Burnham says there was 'zero consultation' on easing lockdown measures

The Mayor of Greater Manchester said he was "astonished" when "word filtered through" there was going to be an announcement easing lockdown restrictions.

In May 2020 the Government dropped the "stay at home" messaging in favour of "stay alert" in a move that was widely criticised at the time.

"We were still very much closer to our peak than the southern half of the country," Mr Burnham tells the Covid Inquiry. "There was zero consultation"

Andy Burnham at the Covid inquiry 27/11/2023

He says if he was consulted he would have told No10: "Don't lift it".

"They were looking at the picture in London and they were more concerned with that.

"Greater Manchester was left stuck with a high case rate throughout the rest of 2020".

Andy Burnham says he 'repeatedly' asked to attend emergency Cobra meetings

The Mayor of Greater Manchester says he "repeatedly" asked to attend emergency COBRA meetings ahead of the first lockdown - but was never invited.

"It should have happened," he says.

"A structured environment where serious issues could have been properly raised... [including] financial support for people on the lowest incomes."

"There was a London-centricity in decision making".

Mr Burnham says while he was Health Secretary during the last Labour government he chaired a weekly meeting during the outbreak of swine flu where council leaders and leaders of the devolved nations were present.

Andy Burnham Covid Inquiry evidence session resumes

The Mayor of Greater Manchester says he held a meeting on the day of the first lockdown - 23 March - with the then Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.

He says relations with government were becoming "increasingly fraught".

"We were not sat down and briefed on the implications of a national lockdown".

Inquiry breaks for lunch

The Covid Inquiry has risen for lunch and will return at 2.05pm.

Andy Burnham will continue to give evidence this afternoon, followed by Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram (if they don't run out of time...)

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham begins his evidence

Andy Burnham is next to face a grilling by the Covid Inquiry as Mayor of Greater Manchester during the pandemic.

He says he was first made aware of the virus through media reports and the Chinese community in Manchester in January, who were "in a very high state of alarm" about what was happening in Wuhan.

They were asking him for assistance to get PPE through airports.

(Wiktor Szymanowicz/REX/Shutterstock)

Mr Burnham was Health Secretary during the swine flu pandemic during 2009 so he said he was watching developments closely.

Sadiq Khan evidence - key points

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has now wrapped up his evidence, which was highly critical of the Government.

(PA)

Key points include:

• Second lockdown could have been avoided if Government had acted sooner

• 'Lives could have been saved' if London leaders brought in earlier but Khan shut out by No10

• Boris Johnson 'not aware' other countries had gone into lockdowns in March 2020

• Clear early on that ethnic minorities were disproportionately affected by the virus

Second lockdown could have been avoided if Government had acted sooner, says Khan

In September 2020, the London Mayor wrote to Boris Johnson to warn the virus was spiralling again and new restrictions could be needed "very soon".

He said the March lockdown had come "too late" and urged the PM to not make the same mistake again.

Khan said he pushed for a circuit breaker lockdown - as mentioned by SAGE experts - in October but the Government didn't listen.

"Had the Government taken the advice from SAGE for example for a circuit breaker, lobbying from people like me... another example of delay," he said.

The second lockdown could have been avoided if restrictions were brought in earlier, he argued.

Khan realised early on that ethnic minorities were being disproportionately affected by the virus

The London Mayor said it became clear that people ethnic minority backgrounds were being hit hard by Covid.

He wrote to the families of Transport for London staff who died and realised all the names were common among ethnic minorities.

"If you see the photographs of the first 10 doctors who lost their lives, the thing that strikes you is they were people of colour," he said.

"We knew from conversations with health workers, social care workers, transport workers, the issue of disproportionality and the phrase I used at the time is 'we are all facing the same storm but people have different sized boats'."

Devolved leaders shared concern at 'mixed messages' from Government

Sadiq Khan said he regularly held talks with devolved nations - and by May 19 they were expressing concerns about Government's failure to engage with them.

He said there were "mixed messages" on things like telling people to return to work but also to avoid using public transport.

Inquiry rises for a short break

The Inquiry is taking a short break and will return at 12.05pm.

Khan called for non-medical face masks in April

Moving into the first lockdown, the Inquiry has shown a picture of a letter about face coverings Sadiq Khan wrote to Dominic Raab in April.

Mr Raab was deputising for Boris Johnson at the time who was battling Covid.

Mr Khan argued that there were benefits to people wearing face coverings - but acknowledged shortages of PPE meant medical grade face masks should be saved for health workers.

St Patrick's Day parade cancelled due to 'shocking' meeting with top medic

Sadiq Khan said he stopped the London's St Patrick's Day parade from going ahead in March 2020 after "shocking" talks with Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty.

He said the top medic told him there would be a "global pandemic" with London expected to suffer "really serious" consequences in two or three weeks.

He said: "Although I had read the phrase 'global pandemic', Chris Whitty telling me there was going to be a global pandemic was shocking to me."

He added: "It was clear from what Chris Whitty was saying that the impact on London was going to be huge."

Boris Johnson 'not aware' other countries had gone into lockdowns in March 2020

The London Mayor said Boris Johnson was "not aware" that other countries had locked down in March 2020.

Discussing a meeting with the PM on March 19, he said: "The prime minister wasn't aware that in other parts of the world they had lockdowns in place and fines could be issued if you breached the lockdown.

"I was surprised he wasn't aware of that in relation to what was happening elsewhere."

Mr Khan said the UK was not learning from what was happening in the rest of the world.

A transcript of a phone call between the pair on March 22 shows Mr Johnson was still wavering about lockdown - a day before it was announced.

It shows he was worried about the great "economic cost" of shutting down the country.

Plans for press conference with Boris Johnson but it was called off

Sadiq Khan met Boris Johnson on March 19 and the pair discussed doing a press conference together the next day.

But it was called off, with Dominic Cummings warning doing it on a Friday could spook the financial markets, the Inquiry head.

Khan attended a COBRA meeting the next day but Boris Johnson wasn't there. He couldn't remember why.

The PM was still wavering on restrictions at this point but Mr Khan was pushing for locking down.

Khan said he was 'almost winded' by reality of Covid threat at first COBRA meeting

The London Mayor said he was "almost winded" when he realised the seriousness of Covid at his first COBRA meeting on Monday 16 March.

This was the first time he was told how bad the situation was, he says, with a “really serious” problem in intensive care units in London hospitals.

Mr Johnson described it as the biggest challenge facing the UK since the Second World War at the meeting, he said.

Mr Khan said he felt he'd been "kept in the dark" by the Government, adding: "I felt almost winded in relation to what was happening in London."

He said he lobbied for restrictions at the time.

March 16 was the day Mr Johnson told people to stay at home and limit social contacts.

'Lives could have been saved' if London leaders brought in earlier

Sadiq Khan said "lives could have been saved" in the capital if London leaders had been involved earlier.

He argues that the virus was spreading rapidly in London and there were specific issues such as overcrowded housing, diversity, mobility and the numbers of people in frontline jobs.

He said: "I was told that something in London was different because I was told the pandemic was having an impact on London ahead of the rest of the country.

"The Government was aware of the challenges in ICU, the challenges in our hospitals, and the Government was aware of community transmission in London."

He added: "I can see no explanation at all why... the Greater London Authority, the Mayor of London were not around the table.

"I think lives could have been saved if we were there earlier."

He wasn't allowed to attend a COBRA meeting until March 16.

Sadiq Khan describes being shut out of Government briefings

Sadiq Khan describes struggling to get information about Covid-19 as the virus began to spread.

At the time, he thought it "wouldn't be a surprise" that London could be affected because of the number of international airports.

He began writing to the Government in late January and said he was "disappointed" he was not getting information.

In February he began seeking information from other cities such as Milan, Seoul and China about the virus. His foreign affairs team was only three people.

Khan said he asked to attend Cobra meetings but was repeatedly rebuffed.

Emails shown to the Inquiry confirm Downing Street did not allow him to attend in early March but suggested a meeting between Matt Hancock and the other mayors.

Civil service boss Simon Case won't appear at the Covid Inquiry this year due to ill health

Simon Case will not appear before the UK Covid-19 Inquiry this year due to an ongoing health problem.

Inquiry chair Baroness Heather Hallett formally excused Mr Case, the Cabinet Secretary, from giving evidence in 2023 "due to ill health" - and would get an update from him at the end of January.

(REUTERS)

Lady Hallett said in her ruling: "It very much remains my intention that Mr Case should give oral evidence to the inquiry."

His evidence is highly anticipated after a string of damning WhatsApps from him were shown to the Inquiry.

Messages show he said Carrie Johnson was really in charge and the Government was a "terrible, tragic joke".

London Mayor Sadiq Khan begins giving evidence

The Mayor of London has started his evidence to the Inquiry.

They kick off discussing his role, which is one of the most powerful mayoralties in the country, with some 9 million people in the Capital affected by his decisions.

Sadiq Khan says he was "the voice of London" in an emergency like Covid, but he did not make decisions about restrictions such as closing schools and ordering people to stay at home.

(Wiktor Szymanowicz/REX/Shutterstock)

Matt Hancock, Dominic Raab and Michael Gove among witnesses in critical week

It's going to be a big week for the Inquiry as it continues its scrutiny into decisions made at the top of Government during the pandemic.

Here's the timetable for the week - with top ministers Michael Gove, Dominic Raab and Matt Hancock all expected to give evidence.

Covid Inquiry to hear from Sadiq Khan, Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram

The London Mayor, Greater Manchester Metro Mayor and Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram are due to appear before the Covid Inquiry today.

We'll be bringing you all the latest news from the hearing today.