After meeting members of the Covid Bereaved Families for Justice on Tuesday – far too late, according to the group – the Prime Minister has signalled that he will appoint a Chair for the public inquiry into his Government’s response to Covid by Christmas. Whoever is appointed, it is likely that the inquiry will focus on questions that presume ministers were right to lock the country down in the first place (e.g. “Did we lock down too late?”, not “Did the costs of lockdown outweigh the benefits?”). Sky News has the story.
In May, [the Prime Minister] announced an independent public inquiry into the Government’s handling of the pandemic will begin in the spring of next year.
“Although we wish this meeting had taken place a long time ago, we’re pleased that the Prime Minister has chosen to finally engage with us and that he explicitly acknowledged the importance of ensuring that bereaved families are at the heart of learning lessons from the pandemic,” the group said in a statement after the meeting.
“However, we are still disappointed by the lack of urgency the Prime Minister displayed as we see no reason why preparations for the inquiry cannot begin now, particularly as nearly 1,000 people are still losing their lives each week.”
They said Mr. Johnson must deliver on his commitments, adding: “We hope that we can accept the Prime Minister’s commitments in good faith and, going forward, that there will be ongoing and meaningful dialogue with bereaved families.”
The group had asked for the meeting to be held outside with social distancing in place.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister gave a commitment that the Chair of the inquiry would be appointed by Christmas.
“He set out that for now it is right that public servants continue to focus their efforts on tackling the pandemic before moving on to the inquiry in the spring of next year.
“He welcomed the opportunity to hear from Bereaved Families for Justice on the areas they would like the inquiry to cover and the importance of choosing the right chair and panel members, and reiterated that he takes full responsibility for the Government’s handling of the pandemic.
Worth reading in full.
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I propose Lord Sumption.
Yes but that would suggest this was a serious enquiry instead of charade to appease the naysayers.
Quite. If there is ever a serious enquiry, it’s not going to happen until most of the the current lot have left political office.
The eternal triumph of hope over experience…
Translation:
“The Dictator to appoint a stooge to pretend like they’re carrying out a public inquiry in order to fool the people into thinking they did a good job.”
This “inquiry” will find some minor issues so as not to raise suspicion (with the chief issue probably being that the restrictions were not severe enough), but the main conclusion will be that the government’s response was appropriate and has saved countless lives. It’s a very expensive theatre show.
I predict that the main “finding” will be that in each case lockdowns should have been imposed several weeks earlier than they were.
Maybe we can get them to do a “pin the lockdown on the curve” competition
Hint (it’s always shortly after the peak)
Has the big order for whitewash been placed?
This is ridiculous though. The pressure group referrred to seems to be taking it as read that viruses can be ‘controlled’ by government policies, and the basic starting point is “why weren’t they even more draconian”. As we see by comparisons across the world, there is literally no correlation between whether there were restrictions at all, the timing and severity of any such restrictions, and the actual outcome.
Personally, I have always though that a coat or two of “Enquiry” whitewash always looks a little better with the faintest tinge of blue in it.
In Suffolk, we’re a bit more traditional, and mix the blood of animals in ours, before painting our houses. That colour might better suit this latest Johnson travesty.
They can appoint who they like to run this and it will not matter how lacking in independence/conflicts of interest they are. Just look at Sage! Half of them up to their neck with the pharma sector and the media barely said a thing.
Thus a complete waste of time and money.
Pointless public theatre “kicking the can down the road” to use the Johnson expression.
A bit like Mengele appointing the chair of the GMC.
Actually, there is a serious issue about public appointments here, with the civil service also more firmly ensconced in a political role, with the Cabinet Office at its head.. Another major constitutional issue.
Next you’ll be telling me the head of the civil service who was politically independent is now running the Labour party!
Bozo should be the last person to appoint anyone looking into the governments handling of this Plandemic.
It’s definitely going to be a Whitewash Christmas then.
Bearing in mind, of course, that the Christmas part of that will probably be cancelled.
The list of the powerful in this country and globally who are up to their necks in this is so long it would be much quicker to list the powerful who are NOT up to their necks in it.
I think we will all be long dead before the madness is seen for what it was.
I’ve not pushed this with people because I hardly speak to anyone any more but my impression from work colleagues and others who are pretty fed up with it all and would really not want to see any more restrictions is that there is no appetite for opening the can of worms. They just want it all to go away.
Our only hopes are some major overreach by UK and other governments that makes people feel angry, or some well funded movement led by a charismatic group that manages to capture the imagination. Neither seems at all likely.
What any enquiry should also consider (but won’t) is whether the government is culpable for deaths which occurred directly as a result of lockdown policies and pushing the vaccine to people who didn’t need.
An objective investigation would certainly find stronger evidence for this than for any claims that the government is responsible for Covid deaths.
Let me guess at the conclusion, “lessons have been learnt and the government saved millions of lives by their action”. (No need to mention the well documented procedure for dealing with a pandemic, as they didn’t follow it).
or the fact that they downgraded it so was there ever really a pandemic in the first place ????
PM to Appoint Chair of Public Inquiry – and by Christmas 2037 he’ll appoint someone to sit in it.
Never mind ‘an enquiry’, what about telling us why parliament has had no vote on the extension of the Coronavirus Act…….and why there has been a press black-out on reporting it.
What on earth is going on?
It’s the Public Health Act (1984) that has been (ab)used to enable most of the Statutory Instruments that brought into force the various restrictions.
I’m not expecting much!
The idea they’ll be independent is as ridiculous as proposing the WHO appointing Peter Daszak to investigate Wuhan leak theories!
Oh that happened…
Like the 9/11 commission, this inquiry will be set to fail with a predetermined outcome.
Whoever is appointed, it is likely that the inquiry will focus on questions that presume ministers were right to lock the country down in the first place…
Whoever is appointed, it is a foregone conclusion that the inquiry will find that the government did a magnificent job …..
. . .but they would have done an even better job if they’d locked down sooner and harder. Lessons will be learned for next time.
Reiner Fuellmich has already gathered most of the relevant information from experts right across the world, so he and his committee would be the perfect candidates as we’d have prompt access to a very cost effective and extremely comprehensive report.
“They were right, and we are lunatics” – summary of verdict
Maybe Toby Young, Michael Curzon, and Noah Carl should apply for the job?
Tbh, if someone were to offer me a magical option to award the position, I’d be tempted to give it to Delingpole, just to enjoy the fireworks.
Gates and Schwab have given our obnoxious fat lump the parameters in which any inquiry can be conducted. Nobody really believes we have an independent government any more, do they?
They must have finished the final draft of the report…
I predict a shortage of whitewash due to Brexit; climate change; COVID pandemic and too few lorry drivers.
And probably the millennium bug!
Truth Being Ignored – Victoria Australia Records 867 New COVID Cases, 375 in Hospital and 95% of Those Hospitalized are Vaccinated
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2021/09/28/truth-being-ignored-victoria-australia-records-867-new-covid-cases-375-in-hospital-and-95-of-those-hospitalized-are-vaccinated/
Covid Bereaved Families for Justice …. are there any other viral infections where the bereaved families are asking for justice? And justice from who – USA and China funding of gain of function? In the 1957/8 and 1967/8 influenza pandemics did the families of those who died ask the government for justice or did we just accept virus is gonna virus. I feel many people have lost a sense that human beings do die from illnesses and it cannot be prevented. I sometimes feel I am living in a parallel universe.
It’s not clear to me what expression of “justice” they seek; whether it be money, a pusillanimous and arse-covering insincere “apology”, or something else.If it’s money, then consider how long it has taken to deny the innocent victims of the NHS tainted blood scandal from the 80’s recompense, and which is not yet resolved.
It’s not clear to me what expression of “justice” they seek;
Presumably a clear declaration that the most draconic lockdown possible must be inflicted at the earliest opportunity on all those filthy subhuman variant factories they’d like to get even with because someeone they knew happened to die.
Just another pointless waste of money. The conclusion will be written first.
This is a remarkable article in today’s Guardian.
The author has turned the whole idea of an enquiry on its head.
Instead, she focuses on …
“lawsuits against those who negligently or intentionally caused others to become infected with Covid-19 by, for example, refusing to get vaccinated against it.
OR
” … a class action against an organisation that spread vaccine misinformation, such as Children’s Health Defense, chaired by Robert Kennedy Jr, or America’s Frontline Doctors.”
Full piece below:
Covid lawsuits and inquiries are looming – but blame won’t prevent future pandemics | Laura Spinney | The Guardian
I’d like to see anyone proving the first of these preposterous notions. We all now know that this jollop doesn’t prevent infection or transmission, for one, and it would be necessary to prove who, when, where; unless it’s some sort of Salem Witches/Bloody Mary etc. guilt by association or prejudice.
A good place to start might be to bring actions against the Government and its tail-wagger, the NHS, for killing off care home residents, sent home infected by hospitals. The subterfuge DNR orders and the rest are another fertile ground for litigation.
An unbelievable piece of writing in the Groan.
Animals caused the “pandemic” and suing people who have proven to be “spreaders” of the disease are among the gems she puts forward.
This crap is about as Orwellian as it gets.
Author’s name – Laura Spinney.
Ultra nutjob.
I’d suggest it’s time for independents to establish their own enquiry, to include heavyweights from the medical, business, economic, scientific and emergency service communities.
Play Johnson at his own game and expose this scam for what it is.
Maybe Toby and Co could coordinate?
What colour whitewash do you prefer?
It’ll have to be rainbow coloured – just to be “inclusive” of course…
It would be right to discuss if the lockdown experiment was or was not helpful. It would also be correct to discuss if the vaccination experiment was or was not helpful.
What’s the betting it’s Dido she of the 65 million track and trace?
We all know whoever is appointed is there for a gong and a hefty pay day for whitewashing.
My nomination is Mr Blobby! Blobby! Blobby! All over the pages Blobby!
Whitewash is a better name.
Q: Who’s the leader of the Labour party?
A: Boris Johnson.
Forgive my scepticism but I remember the Chillcit inquiry….
Utter waste of time and money. There will be no challenge allowed to the official narrative that Lockdown was essential.
Some prominent voices in Australia are also calling for a similar ‘independent’ review of government management of the ‘pandemic’ in Australia which would take the form of a Royal Commission. Royal Commisssions have coercive investigatory powers and can result in criminal charges against individuals but it all depends on who the Chair is and the Terms of Reference (TOR) – and both of these are the prerogative of the government.
The federal and state governments are the architects of the hysteria over Covid and the unnecessary, ineffective and incredibly damaging policy response by those governments who will get to choose the Commission’s chair and the TORs. The vested interest of governments in a favourbale inquiry will ensure that both Chair and TORS will be chosen to guarantee a result exonerating government and limiting the issues to be investigated to narrow technocratic ones like the most optimum timing and procedure for lockdown decisions, the logistics of vaccine rollout, how to improve compliance with mask mandates, etc. Lockdown, masks, the Covid vaxx and passports would all be taken as desirable and necessary.
The TORs would exclude things like the ‘secret science’ and abuse of evidence by chief health/medical officers; the misinformation/propaganda spread by the establishment media; the efficacy of lockdowns, border closures, school closures, curfews, etc.; autocratic rule by Health Ministers’ ‘Public Health Orders’ instead of parliament; loss of civil liberties; police brutality; the economic, education and social impacts of lockdown.
It’ll be Sir Humphrey Applebys’ advice to Jim Hacker all over again – “Minister, two basic rules of government: Never look into anything you don’t have to. And never set up an enquiry unless you know in advance what its findings will be”.
Phil
Adelaide
Is there any room left on the back of Sunack’s envelope to add up the cost of this pointless, BS, whitewash “enquiry”?
I thought not…
My expectation of a real enquiry ever happening (at least in my lifetime) is close to zero.
how long before another U-turn?
An Independent Public Inquiry
Believe that and you’ll believe anything