The head of the UK Covid inquiry, Baroness Hallett, is talking to people who lost loved ones in the pandemic.
The public inquiry has been set up to "learn lessons" from the pandemic for the future. Its draft terms of reference, setting out the areas to be investigated, including how well prepared the UK was for a pandemic, and how the NHS coped with it, wereBut Baroness Hallett, a former High Court judge, is seeking the views of those most affected by the pandemic to see what should be added to inquiry's remit.
During the meeting, she called on Baroness Hallett to make the inequalities faced by minority communities an explicit part of the inquiry's terms of reference. Some attend in person, sitting around a long table with the inquiry chair at the head, while others appear on zoom via large screens set up in the room.
A spokesperson for Baroness Hallett told the BBC she was "grateful" for the contributions of bereaved families and was determined to ensure that "those who have suffered harm or hardship as a result of the pandemic can have their voices heard throughout the life of the inquiry.
"Being in the north as well, we've had some of the severest measures, and were hit harder than some of the other areas of the country," she added, "we needed to make her very aware that there are specifics to the North East. It cannot be London-centric".
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