Bereaved families feel 'failed' by Covid inquiry

Bereaved families of Covid victims have said they already feel "failed" by Scotland's public inquiry amid a raft of resignations.

The review's lead counsel and three junior counsels quit on Thursday, followed by the resignation of chairwoman Lady Poole on Friday.

One campaigner said relatives of people were worried about delays and that promises would be broken.

The inquiry insisted it was "continuing its important work".

The Scottish Covid-19 public inquiry confirmed that four members of its legal team stood down last week.

Inquiry chair Lady Poole was also said to be leaving for personal reasons. The government says she will continue in the post during a notice period of up to three months.

The review, which was set up in December 2021, is yet to hold a session or set out the parameters of its investigation.

Alan Wightman, whose 88-year-old mother Helen died in May 2020 during a Covid outbreak at her Fife care home, leads the Scottish chapter of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice.

Responding to the resignations and the prospect of delays, Mr Wightman told BBC Scotland: "I'm disappointed that it has come to this because it felt to me for a long time now that that inquiry just wasn't making headway."

He said bereaved families had met Lady Poole in January, adding: "There's been absolutely nothing - zero - ever since from Lady Poole and that doesn't fit with the promise that was made to us to be front and centre of the process."

Asked if he felt families had been failed by the inquiry, the campaigner replied: "I would have to say at the moment, yes I do because it has achieved absolutely nothing in the 10 months it has been in place, other than some consultation with the chair of the UK inquiry who knew what she was doing."

The review will look at the Scottish government's actions throughout the pandemic, from introducing lockdown to the delivery of testing and vaccines.

It will also focus on infection control in care homes, including the transfer of patients from hospitals.

Mr Wightman said it was "ironic" that Scotland's inquiry was lagging behind the UK review despite Nicola Sturgeon having pushed for an inquiry to begin before Boris Johnson in 2021.

The UK inquiry began with a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, although it will not hold public hearings until 2023.

"We had a big, big advantage over the UK," Mr Wightman told the BBC. "Scotland was leading the way and yet here we are running behind now."

Lawyer Aamer Anwar, acting for the Scottish branch of the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, told BBC Scotland there was "dismay and anger" and branded the probe a "sinking ship".

Jane Morrison, whose wife Jacky died aged 49 from hospital-acquired Covid in 2020, said the group was frustrated by delays to the inquiry.

She told BBC Scotland: "We fought so hard to get the inquiry. We were promised it, and this was before the UK inquiry had even been announced.

"When we do the comparison, there's been so much positive movement with the UK inquiry.

"And we were getting absolutely nothing from the Scottish inquiry. It's just been a black hole that everything just seems to have disappeared in.

"It's upset so many of our members because they're beginning to think, is this ever going to happen?"

John Swinney, Scotland's deputy first minister and Covid-19 recovery secretary, told parliament that putting bereaved families "at the heart of the inquiry" would be a condition of appointment for the new chairperson.

During an urgent parliamentary question, Labour's Covid recovery spokesperson Jackie Baillie said: "I regret the lack of transparency from the government on such an important issue.

"Some more cynical than I might say that there is a pattern of secrecy here with the government and I hope this doesn't spill over into the inquiry itself."

Swinney said he could not comment on the resignations and that interfering with the running of the review would break the law.

"The staffing matters of the inquiry are exclusively a matter for the chair of the inquiry," he told MSPs.

"At no stage have I tried to conceal information. I have simply respected the legal framework under which I must operate."

Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said it was up to the chairperson to determine the timescale of the process.

He told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "Clearly the chair stepping down from the inquiry, and indeed some legal counsel choosing to do the same, is going to impact relatives.

"They are going to have to questions. There is going to be a level of uncertainty.

"Now it's incumbent on government to work of course with the Lord President to see if we can try to appoint another member of the judiciary to take Lady Poole's place."

There is an insistence from within the inquiry that Lady Poole really did leave for personal reasons.

But her decision came the day after two-thirds of its lawyers quit - and in the days leading up to the UK-wide inquiry beginning to great fanfare in London.

Some in legal circles have remarked upon how the UK inquiry appears to have moved more quickly and smoothly into holding hearings.

And opposition MSPs are less than impressed that there was no mention of other resignations when they were briefed about Lady Poole's departure by the government.

Ministers are quick to underline that the inquiry is wholly independent, and looks after its own staffing without any government input.

But they are sure to face a barrage of questions in parliament about how things will get back on track, and when bereaved families can expect to hear some answers.

A spokesperson for the inquiry said: "We can confirm that four members of the counsel team have left the inquiry. We are immensely grateful for their contribution to the inquiry's progress and wish them every success.

"The independent inquiry is continuing its important work on behalf of the public pending the appointment of a new chair."

Lady Poole has offered to assist her successor while serving her notice period.

A Scottish government spokesman said: "A public inquiry operates independently of ministers. As a result, the procedure, conduct and operation of the inquiry, including staffing and counsel appointments, are matters for the chair.

"The Scottish government is keen to help ensure the excellent progress made so far by the inquiry is continued. Consequently, work to appoint a new chair is being progressed at pace.

"The deputy first minister has already spoken with the Lord President about arrangements for appointing a new judicial chair.

"Having advised MSPs on Monday he undertook to provide a further update to parliament about a replacement chair at the earliest opportunity."