Today (Wednesday 15 December) the Prime Minister has appointed
the Rt Hon Baroness Heather Hallett DBE as Chair of the
forthcoming public inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Inquiry, set to begin its work in spring 2022, will be
established under the Inquiries Act 2005, with full powers,
including the power to compel the production of documents and to
summon witnesses to give evidence on oath. Additional panel
members will be appointed in the new year to make sure the
Inquiry has access to the full range of expertise needed to
complete its important work.
The Inquiry will play a key role in examining the UK’s pandemic
response and ensuring that we learn the right lessons for the
future. The Prime Minister will now consult and ministers from the
devolved administrations on the terms of reference for the
Inquiry and will publish them in draft in the new year.
Those most affected by the pandemic - including those who have
sadly lost loved ones - must also have an opportunity to play
their proper role in the process. Once the terms of reference
have been published in draft, will take forward a
process of public engagement and consultation - including with
bereaved families and other affected groups - before the terms of
reference are finalised.
Prime Minister said:
I want to thank for agreeing to take on
the position of Chair of the Covid-19 Inquiry.
She brings a wealth of experience to the role and I know shares
my determination that the inquiry examines in a forensic and
thoroughgoing way the government’s response to the pandemic.
The Rt Hon Baroness Heather Hallett DBE, said:
I am honoured to be appointed to chair the Covid-19 Inquiry. The
pandemic has affected us all, some much worse than others. I am
acutely conscious of the suffering it has caused to so many.
In the new year I shall be seeking views from those who have lost
loved ones and all other affected groups about the Inquiry’s
terms of reference.
I want to assure the British public that, once the terms of
reference are finalised, I shall do my utmost to ensure the
Inquiry answers as many questions as possible about the UK’s
response to the pandemic so that we can all learn lessons for the
future.
retired from the Court of
Appeal in 2019 and was made a crossbench life peer. She has
previously conducted a range of high-profile and complex
inquests, inquiries and reviews, including acting as coroner for
the inquests into the deaths of the 52 victims of the 7th July
2005 London bombings; as chair of the Iraq Fatalities
Investigations; and as chair of the 2014 Hallett Review of the
administrative scheme to deal with ‘on the runs’ in Northern
Ireland.
is currently acting as
coroner in the inquest into the death of Dawn Sturgess, who died
in July 2018 following exposure to the nerve agent Novichok. A
new chair for that inquiry will be appointed early in the new
year.
