Naomi Fulop, a member of Covid Bereaved Families for Justice (CBFFJ), gathered with fellow campaigners at London's Kia Oval cricket stadium to respond to Heather Hallett's latest Covid inquiry report. Reading from her phone, Fulop recalled her mother's death in January 2021 during the second wave of the pandemic, when PPE shortages were acute. She said: 'Today's report lays bare a catastrophic failure of preparedness that cost lives, wasted billions and allowed a privileged few to profit from a national emergency.'
Report confirms catastrophic failures
The inquiry, led by former court of appeal judge Lady Hallett, found that the UK's depleted PPE stockpile was 'perilous' and left health and social care workers without adequate protection. The Johnson government wasted approximately £10bn of the nearly £15bn spent on PPE procurement, partly due to a 'VIP lane' that prioritised contracts for companies with government connections. Deborah Doyle, whose mother died in a Sunderland care home in April 2020, said staff there also lacked PPE: 'The nurse who looked after my mum ... was absolutely bereft because he couldn't believe the number of residents who were dying.'
Families campaign for justice
The CBFFJ group, founded in May 2020, has grown to 7,000 members and campaigned successfully for a public inquiry. They pushed for scrutiny of the VIP lane, which paid £4.2bn to companies processed via that route. Hallett concluded the VIP system was 'inherently biased' but not intentionally corrupt. Fulop disagreed: 'No other country in the world created a VIP lane. It was a deliberate and shameful choice.'
Impact and recommendations
Six years after the pandemic began, bereaved families gathered to insist lessons are learned. The report's recommendations aim to improve future pandemic preparedness, but families remain unconvinced about the VIP lane verdict. The inquiry has been a vindication for the group, which continues to seek accountability for the loss of lives.
