A group of over 1400 family members bereaved by Covid-19, who are being represented by Liverpool lawyer Elkan Abrahamson, have today sent a pre-action letter to the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Health and Social Cares as its request to meet with the Government to discuss a call for an immediate start to a public inquiry has been refused.

The families wrote to Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock three times requesting a meeting and asking for an immediate public inquiry but after having been ignored for over a month, finally received an outright refusal to meet last week. Covid 19 Bereaved Families for Justice want a rapid review to identify failings in the Government’s response to the pandemic and prevent unnecessary deaths this winter. This would be followed by a longer public inquiry after the pandemic.

The bereaved families argue that only public inquiries have the power to call witnesses, access crucial evidence and ensure the real life experience of those who have lost loved

ones is used to inform recommendations for policies which will reduce unnecessary deaths in future waves. A petition started by the group has now reached over 163,000 signatures in support of its call.

A pre-action letter has today been sent on behalf of the bereaved families’ group advising that they intend to begin Judicial Review proceedings in the High Court unless the Government agrees that there is a need for the public Inquiry to start now to initially consider urgent matters which could prevent future loss of life including ongoing supplies of PPE, the test and trace system and procedures for timely local and national lockdowns.

Fiona Kirton a spokesperson for the group said: “The fact Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock have refused to meet us shows a lack of support, respect and humanity. Our loved ones have suffered horrible deaths, we should be focusing on healing from our pain, and instead we have to take legal action to secure an immediate public inquiry, purely because we do not want other families to suffer as we have.”

The families have asked the Government for an agreement not to recover any costs from the families in relation to this action. We await their response in relation to that request. It would

be absurd for the Government to prevent the families’ access to the Courts solely on the basis that they are not in a financial position to challenge Government.

The bereaved families have met with the leaders of the Labour party and the Liberal Democrats and are seeking to gather cross-party support for their call. Sir Keir Starmer has stated he supports the families’ campaign for justice to avoid further unnecessary loss of life. Ed Davey has expressly supported the campaign for a statutory public Inquiry to begin immediately.

Elkan Abrahamson from Broudie Jackson Canter, representing the group said: “The Government was too scared to take action when the pandemic started, is too scared to allow an immediate inquiry into its actions and is too scared to meet bereaved families. Legal action is a last resort and one we and the families want to avoid but unless the government speaks to us and acts we have no choice.”

The total number of excess deaths during the coronavirus pandemic in the UK has been over 65,000. A recent report Preparing for a challenging winter gives a reasonable worst-case scenario of 120,000 deaths if urgent action is not taken this summer. The families have today launched a crowdfunding campaign in order to protect themselves should the Government refuse to agree to this request and would also like people to show their support by signing their petition