Union body claims policies left Britain ‘hugely unprepared’, in report before opening hearing of inquiry

Years of austerity overseen by David Cameron and George Osborne left Britain “hugely unprepared” for Covid, with consequences that were “painful and tragic”, union leaders have claimed.

In an attempt to frame the opening hearing of the UK Covid inquiry next week as a trial of public sector cuts, the Trades Union Congress will argue in a report that the policies of the former prime minister and his chancellor led to “unsafe staffing in public services, a broken safety net and decimated workplace safety enforcement”.

Continue reading...

Since the pandemic there has been a steep rise in cases of ADHD among children. Here, experts discuss why, parents describe their struggles and campaigners say what needs to change

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) is a neurodevelopmental condition that is shrouded in misunderstanding, uncertainty and controversy. There is, for example, no definitive agreement on how many people have the condition. In the UK, one survey has put the incident rate in childhood (five to 15 years old) at just over 2% ( 3.62% of boys and 0.85% of girls ). ADHD support groups cite figures of 5%. One UK study found 11% with symptoms but 6.7% with disorder and impairment.

Even the name can be misleading. “We don’t have a deficit of attention,” says Henry Sheldon, co-founder of ADHD UK , a charity aimed at raising awareness of the disorder. “It’s a lack of control of attention. And people with predominant hyperactivity make up our smallest cohort.”

Continue reading...

The public interest demands the full disclosure of what went on inside government during our deadliest peacetime emergency in more than a century

It is marked in calendars around Westminster and Whitehall as a day to dread. On 13 June, the public inquiry into the handling of the pandemic will start taking oral evidence. A procession of those at the heart of government decision-taking and blunder-making will be interrogated under oath about their actions and inactions. Heather Hallett , the retired judge in the chair, is said to be disappointed that she did not make lord chief justice. Yet there is surely no more significant role in her line of work than investigating, passing judgment and drawing lessons from the performance of government during the deadliest peacetime emergency in more than a century.

This inquisition is not going to be a dry and bloodless exercise. The formidable judge is adopting a take-no-prisoners approach. We know this from the advance questions the inquiry team has been sending out to those who will be examined .

Continue reading...

Role of eat out to help out scheme in increased cases and Treasury hostility to scientific advice may come under spotlight

At the start of a Tory leadership debate hosted by the Sun last July, Rishi Sunak made a series of statements which, 10 months on, all ring equally hollow.

Facing Liz Truss – the contest’s eventual winner – Sunak was at pains to acknowledge that Sun readers were struggling with the cost of living. But he also wanted to temper his concern for them with optimism about Britain’s prospects.

Continue reading...

Cabinet Office lawyers warn ex-prime minister of consequences if he tries to ‘frustrate or undermine’ work of the investigation

Boris Johnson has been warned that he could lose public funding for legal advice if he tries to “frustrate or undermine” the government’s position on the Covid-19 inquiry.

Cabinet Office lawyers told the former prime minister that money would “cease to be available” if he breaks conditions such as releasing evidence without permission, the Sunday Times reported.

Johnson has been at the centre of a row as ministers launched a high court bid to challenge the inquiry’s demand for his unredacted WhatsApp messages and contemporaneous notebooks.

Continue reading...

Leading scientist attacks prime minister as criticism mounts of government approach to science during the crisis

Rishi Sunak is facing a barrage of criticism in the run-up to the official Covid-19 inquiry as a leading scientist attacks his “spectacularly stupid” eat out to help out scheme, which is believed to have caused a sudden rise in cases of the virus.

The prime minister’s role as chancellor during the pandemic is under increasing scrutiny – as is that of his predecessor at No 10, Boris Johnson – in an escalating Covid blame game at Westminster as Lady Hallett prepares to open her investigation into the government’s pandemic response later this month.

Continue reading...

The lessons to be learned from the government’s mistakes in handling of the coronavirus are crucial. We need all the facts

If one clear lesson is to be taken from our response to the arrival of Covid-19 three years ago, it is an appreciation of the highly effective role played by scientists in fighting the pandemic. Within weeks of the Sars-CoV-2 virus emerging, researchers had sequenced every one of its genes and had pinpointed the cells through which Covid-19 enters the body. By the end of the year, they had used that knowledge to create a safe, tested vaccine that played a crucial role in ending the pandemic. More than 7 million people across the planet have died of Covid-19 but the death toll would have been far higher had researchers not acted with such speed and potency.

Yet it is also becoming clear that on many occasions scientists were not listened to by national leaders. Economics and short-term political considerations were often given greater priority than scientific concerns. These resulted in failures to limit the spread of Covid-19. It is for this reason that the UK inquiry into the nation’s pandemic response, chaired by Heather Hallett, should be followed with rigorous attention.

Continue reading...

The Human Cell Atlas is already helping to ensure safer pregnancies, and scientists believe it will help them understand many other conditions

It provides oxygen and nutrients for a growing baby, removes waste products as they build up in its blood, and protects the life of the foetus. Yet the placenta, the temporary organ that cherishes the unborn, is a puzzle. It carries the DNA of the newly formed child but manages to elude immune responses from its genetically distinct mother.

Understanding how the placenta survives and functions is of critical importance in ensuring pregnancies are healthy and viable – and thanks to a remarkable global project, the Human Cell Atlas (HCA), researchers are now uncovering the secrets of its behaviour.

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson has bypassed ministers’ attempts to keep his unredacted messages secret by handing them over directly to the Covid inquiry

Continue reading...