The private notes and secret documents that tell the inside story of the UK's Covid response
It was the most significant event in UK history since World War II. Millions of us were told to stay at home, and billions of pounds were spent proppping up the country's economy as a new virus took hold. On Thursday, the Covid inquiry will publish its second series of findings, looking at the key political decisions made at the time, including how lockdowns were introduced, the closing of businesses and schools, and the introduction of new social restrictions that had previously unthinkable social constraints.
led counsel at the start of the investigation in 2023," the lead counsel said at the beginning of the probe in 2022. Since then, more than 7,000 documents have been released from time to time, including WhatsApp chats and emails, private diaries, and classified information. Here, BBC News has compiled a list of some of the most popular messages and scribbled notes that shed a light on how critical decisions were taken in 2020.Did the government properly care for the people, or did it fail them?
The early warnings
On January 2, 2020, a ProMed, eHealth professionals' tool, was updated.
it says.After a mystery viral pneumonia outbreak, the World Health Organisation was in contact with Beijing,
Hubei province is on lockout; several cities have transportation restrictions. According to the journal,Twenty-seven people were admitted to the hospital, the majority of whom were stallholders at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market. Jonathan Van Tam, England's deputy chief medical officer and chair of Nervtag, a group that advises the government on emerging viral threats, sends a letter from Jonathan Van Lam to Peter Horby, eta professor at Oxford University and chaired Nervtag. The Wuhan health officials have a big problem by the end of January. Christina Scott, the deputy ambassador to China, sends a cable back to London, marking DIPTEL BEJING (Sensitive), comparing the situation to another virus - SARS - epidemic in 2003.
They'll do everything they can to quickly contain this disease. However, doing so is daunting. The virus then spreads to Thailand and South Korea, then to Iran and northern Italy. Boris Johnson, the UK's then prime minister, is chatting on WhatsApp with his health secretary Matt Hancockahead of the England vs Wales game at Twickenham at lunchtime on Saturday 7 March. The Cheltenham horse racing festival is back, and Atletico Madrid supporters will fly from Spain to Liverpool to watch their team play in the Champions League. The government's project, which is backed by its scientific consultants, is to try to prevent early outbreaks by isolating those with the virus and tracking any contacts. The scheme is set to begin as complete community transmission is established, with measures such as home isolation for those with signs of symptoms torememberance of SARS' cover-up has sparked skepticism of government response.
flatten the curveof the pandemic so that hospitals do not become overwhelmed. However, the virus is spreading much faster than anticipated, and many scientists are beginning to believe that far more research will be required. Two senior No 10 officials are in Whitehall on Friday 13th in a critical meeting of scientific advisors. In his NOTepad, one writes,
NOT READYWE ARE NOT READY. The other leans over and shouts out
in [hospital] corridorsbefore replacing it with an expletive. As a new strategy takes shape, Dominic Cummings, the prime minister's chief advisor, is trapped in a series of meetings with the Prime Minister and a select group of select employees. In No 10full of hand-drawn charts and scramble bullet points, grainy smartphone photographs show whiteboards. According to one estimate, if the virus were allowed to circulate freely without any restrictions in place, more than 100,000 people would die
FYI – [Patrick] Vallance [the chief scientific advisor] is on board with what will NEVER be discussed as Plan B.in the coming wave. A WhatsApp message from Cummingssends to Johnson on Sunday:
Covid rules in the United Kingdom have been tightened over the past week. People are urged, but not legally obliged, to avoid any non-essential contact and work from home when possible. Then schools have been closed, followed by bars, restaurants, gyms, and cinemas. However, there are still concerns that these steps are not effective enough. Sadiq Khan, London's mayor, writes a personal letter to Johnson on Sunday, March 22nd. In a televised address watched by 27 million viewers, Prime Minister May tells the people that they should remain at home as he announces the first national lockdown. It will now be up to the inquiry to determine if calling earlier may have saved lives and reduced the length of time people had to remain indoors.In a nutshell: We go through the gears to [do] whatever we need to prevent NHS deaths and increase capacity.
Controlling Covid and protecting the economy
Some hospitals have been put under serious pressure over the next month, with intensive care units spilling into corridors and side rooms. Pre-planned or elective care is put on hold, but at no time will the NHS have to turn away emergency patients. Starts with viral infections, hospitalizations, and deaths. However, the price of lockdown restrictions is high: education is disrupted, loneliness, and mental health issues are getting worse, and workplaces and businesses are impacted. Johnsonsends a handwritten note to his officials announcing a scheme to initiate operation BOUNCEBACK
on May 22nd. Any limits will be lifted next month, and schools will re-open soon. Rishi Sunak, the narrator of the summer, is trying to improve the economy with his Eat Out to Help Out scheme, which includes 50% off food and drinks for three days a week. The hospitality industry is keen on the idea, but there are questions about the health risks. Hancock advises Simon Case, then the most senior civil servant in Downing Street, that it's causing problems in intervention areas, i. E. Those local authorities with the highest infection rates. According to his testimony, a second wave
circuit breakerhappened in every other country in Europe. However, the tension between controlling Covid and safeguarding the economy becomes even more acute in the fall. Many scientists who have urged the government that tighter regulations be enforced. They're calling for a short
This government doesn't have the confidence to be enforcing stuff within days of deciding not to,lockdown to try to kill infections. The prime minister may favour tighter limits at certain times, but at others, he seems to have ruled out another stringent national lockdown at any price. As he appears to swerve from one policy position to another, WhatsAppJohnson's closest aides complain about his decision-making – using an emoji of a broken trolley.
We look like a terrible, tragic joke. If we were going hard, this decision was made weeks ago. I cannot cope with this.Case, now the current cabinet secretary, to Cummings and Lee Cain, No. 10 director of communications, writes on October 14th.
at-the-moment indignationIn his testimony to the inquiry, Case later says he regrets expressing his
with Johnson, who wasbarely aware" at the time. Johnson defends his own leadership style, saying that his views have changed with the scientific evidence, and he often took such positions in order to hear the counter arguments.
Second national lockdown
As the nights approach in this fall, it becomes clear that existing measures in England, including a 10 p. M. Curfew and the so-called tiered system of local controls, are not sufficient to tackle the virus. In the long note ruckus at the end of a Covid briefing paper marked OFFICIAL/SENSITIVE by the end in October, the prime minister's rage is evident. Johnson pens 22 elaborate points over two A4 pages of paper in tightly spaced handwriting. He approves tightening some local boundaries, but bemoans the terrible price
and asks for HOW LONG?
Is NHS T&T [test and trace] really achieving ANYTHING? says the author.
he asks at one point. England goes into its second national lockdown, this time lasting four weeks, a week later, although most schools remain open. Many decisions are being taken autonomously by the United Kingdom's four nations by this time. Both Wales and Northern Ireland have introduced circuit breaker lockdowns, while in Scotland stricter limits have been enforced in the central belt. The scheme is still in place to encourage families and friends to gather at Christmas. However, a new, more infectious form of the virus is spreading in the south-east of England by mid-December, and millions of people living in the north-east are told at short notice that Christmas mixing will be suspended. As the winter wave hits and the NHS begins to roll out millions of doses of the first Covid vaccines in January 2021, a third and final complete national lockdown follows across the UK.
Lessons learnt
The investigation, five years after those blistering 12 months, has been long-awaited, particularly because of the 235,000 families who lost loved ones in the pandemic. The messages and documents included here are just a sample; the paper, which is set to run to around 800 pages, will appear later. In the midst of reports of partying in Downing Street and other suspected rule breaches, it will investigate some of the most important topics in greater detail: the timing of lockdowns, the consequences of restrictions on the most endangered, and public confidence in the legislation. Thousands of bereaved families need to be held accountable for any pandemic failures. However, above all, they want the state to learn lessons from previous failures in order to be more prepared if and when the next unknown virus arrives on our shores. Some documents in this story have been recreated. The original texts contain spelling mistakes and typographical mistakes. Pilar Tomas and Ely Justiniani, BBC Visual Journalism Unit, additional reporting: BBC Visual Journal Unit Pilar Thomasa Credit: Getty/BBC Top Image Credit: Here's a look at the best headlines you'll need to start the day with our flagship newsletter. Sign up here.
