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 the Second World War. Millions of us were told to stay at home, and billions of pounds were spent propping up the country's economy as a new virus took hold.

On Thursday, the Covid Inquiry will publish its second series of findings, examining the key political decisions made at the time. These include how lockdowns were introduced, the closing of businesses and schools, and the introduction of social restrictions that imposed previously unthinkable constraints on daily life.

'Did the government properly care for the people, or did it fail them?' the lead counsel asked at the start of the investigation in 2022.

Since then, more than 7,000 documents have been released, including WhatsApp chats, emails, private diaries, and classified information. BBC News has compiled a list of some of the most significant messages and scribbled notes that shed light on how critical decisions were taken in 2020.

Jonathan Van-Tam, England's Deputy Chief Medical Officer, sent a letter to Peter Horby, a professor at Oxford University and chair of NERVTAG (the group advising the government on emerging viral threats). By the end of January, Wuhan health officials faced a major crisis.

Christina Scott, the Deputy Ambassador to China, sent a cable back to London marked DIPTEL BEJING (Sensitive), comparing the situation to the SARS epidemic of 2003. Hubei province was on lockdown, with transportation restrictions in several cities.

'Remembrance of SARS' cover-up has sparked scepticism of government response,' the cable noted. 'They'll do everything they can to quickly contain this disease. However, doing so is daunting.'

The virus soon spread to Thailand and South Korea, then to Iran and northern Italy. Meanwhile, Boris Johnson, the then Prime Minister, was chatting on WhatsApp with his Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, discussing the England vs Wales rugby match at Twickenham on Saturday, 7 March. The Cheltenham horse racing festival was proceeding, and Atletico Madrid supporters were flying from Spain to Liverpool for a Champions League match.

'We Are Not Ready'

The government's initial strategy, backed by its scientific consultants, was to try to prevent early outbreaks by isolating those with the virus and tracing contacts.

The scheme was set to begin once community transmission was established, with measures such as home isolation for those with symptoms intended to 'flatten the curve' of the pandemic so that hospitals did not become overwhelmed.

However, the virus was spreading much faster than anticipated. Two senior Number 10 officials were in Whitehall on Friday the 13th for a critical meeting of scientific advisors. In his notepad, one wrote: 'WE ARE NOT READY.' The other leaned over and scrawled 'NOT READY'—before replacing it with an expletive.

As a new strategy took shape, Dominic Cummings, the Prime Minister's chief advisor, was trapped in a series of meetings with the Prime Minister and a select group of staff. Grainy smartphone photographs show whiteboards in Number 10 full of hand-drawn charts and scrawled bullet points. According to one estimate, if the virus were allowed to circulate freely, more than 100,000 people would die 'in [hospital] corridors' in the coming wave.

A WhatsApp message from Cummings to Johnson on Sunday read:

'FYI – [Patrick] Vallance [the Chief Scientific Advisor] is on board with what will NEVER be discussed as Plan B... In a nutshell: We go through the gears to [do] whatever we need to prevent NHS deaths and increase capacity.'

Covid rules in the UK were tightened over the following week. Schools were closed, followed by pubs, restaurants, gyms, and cinemas. However, there were concerns that these steps were not effective enough. Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, wrote a personal letter to Johnson on Sunday, 22 March, urging action.

In a televised address watched by 27 million viewers, the Prime Minister told the public they must stay at home, announcing the first national lockdown.

Controlling Covid vs Protecting the Economy

Over the next month, hospitals came under severe pressure, with intensive care units spilling into corridors. While the NHS did not have to turn away emergency patients, the price of lockdown was high: education was disrupted, mental health issues worsened, and businesses were battered.

Johnson sent a handwritten note to his officials announcing a scheme to 'initiate Operation BOUNCEBACK' on 22 May.

In the summer, Chancellor Rishi Sunak attempted to boost the economy with his 'Eat Out to Help Out' scheme, offering 50% off food and drinks. While the hospitality industry was keen, there were questions about the health risks. Hancock advised Simon Case, then a senior civil servant, that the scheme was causing problems in areas with high infection rates.

By autumn, the tension between controlling Covid and safeguarding the economy became acute. Many scientists urged the government to enforce a short 'circuit breaker' lockdown to kill infections.

The Prime Minister appeared to swerve from one policy position to another. WhatsApp messages show Johnson's closest aides complaining about his decision-making, using an emoji of a broken shopping trolley.

'This government doesn't have the confidence to be enforcing stuff within days of deciding not to,' wrote Simon Case (now Cabinet Secretary) to Cummings and Lee Cain on 14 October. 'We look like a terrible, tragic joke. If we were going hard, this decision was made weeks ago. I cannot cope with this.'

In his testimony to the inquiry, Case later said he regretted expressing his 'at-the-moment indignation', noting that Johnson was 'barely aware' of these vents at the time.

The Second Lockdown and Christmas

As winter approached, it became clear that existing measures, including a 10 pm curfew and the 'tiered system', were insufficient. In a long note scrawled at the end of a briefing paper in October, the Prime Minister's frustration is evident.

Johnson penned 22 points over two A4 pages. He approved tightening some local boundaries but bemoaned the 'terrible price' and asked: 'For HOW LONG? Is NHS T&T [Test and Trace] really achieving ANYTHING?'

England went into its second national lockdown a week later, lasting four weeks.

By mid-December, a new, more infectious variant (Alpha) was spreading in the South East. Millions of people were told at short notice that Christmas mixing would be suspended. As the winter wave hit and the NHS began rolling out the first vaccines in January 2021, a third and final full national lockdown was imposed.

Lessons Learned

The investigation, years after those blistering 12 months, has been long-awaited, particularly by the 235,000 families who lost loved ones.

The inquiry will investigate key topics in detail: the timing of lockdowns, the impact on the vulnerable, and public confidence in the rules (amidst reports of partying in Downing Street).

Thousands of bereaved families want accountability. Above all, they want the state to learn lessons from previous failures to ensure the UK is better prepared if—or when—the next unknown virus arrives on our shores.