UK Covid-19 Inquiry round-up: 27/11/23-1/12/23

1 December 2023

This week GCN members Pete Weatherby KC and Anna Morris KC have questioned several prominent witnesses at the UK Covid-19 Inquiry.

On Monday Pete questioned the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, about the Mayor’s request to the Westminster Government for enhanced localised measures, and associated funding, to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, and also about the UK Government’s poor response to those proposals.

Later the same day Pete questioned Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, about the decision to allow the Champions League match between Liverpool and Atletico Madrid to go ahead. Pete also asked for Mr Rotheram’s response to the accusation which former Health Secretary Matt Hancock appears to make in his statement, that some local leaders were making political points rather than decisions driven by data. Mr Rotheram said that there was never an occasion where he was present where people ‘tried to play party politics’.

On Friday Matt Hancock attended the Inquiry to give evidence and was questioned by Anna Morris KC. Anna asked the former Health Secretary about the discharge of hospital patients to care homes, and the preparedness of those care homes in terms of the practical support and guidance they received in advance of of patients being discharged.

Anna and Pete lead the team representing the Covid Bereaved Families for Justice UK group in Module 2 of the Inquiry, which includes GCN’s Christian Weaver, Kate Stone, Ciara Bartlam, Mira Hammad, Lily Lewis and Hamish McCallum. Also on the team are Garden Court Chambers tenants Allison Munroe KC (Modules 1 and 3) and Thalia Maragh, Jesse Nicholls from Matrix Chambers, Oliver Lewis from Doughty Street Chambers and Tom Jones from Deka Chambers. The team is instructed by Elkan Abrahamson, Nicola Brook, and Emma Beckett from Broudie Jackson Canter.