No-one should be surprised by #MattHancock's assertion at the #CoronavirusInquiry that #pandemic 'preparation' in the Uk was really focussed on damage management....

For all the positive things one can still say about the #NHS, the shortcomings in its lack of focus on preventative #medicine predates the reign of the #Tory wreckers.

We are a county that always focuses on problem solving not problem avoidance. We see it in health, in our response to the #ClimateCrisis or to #discrimination!

#GeorgeOsborne's defence of #austerity (in relation to the #pandemic) is that it allowed the UK the fiscal 'flexibility' to respond....

This is about as convincing has the man who has just thrown you off a boat, claiming that this puts you in an excellent position to take advantage of the new lifebouy he's going to but with the money he's picked from your pocket.

Osborne is a toxic, callous, incompetent who the #CoronavirusInquiry should establish as a key precursor to Govt's #covid failure(s)

So, the #CoronavirusInquiry has been told that Govt. preparations for a (the) #pandemic were compromised (distracted) by the planning activities ahead of a no-deal #Brexit.... but given the entire Brexit sh*tshow has been patterned by a very clear lack of planning & preparation, one can only then ask, well what the f*ck were they doing?

Its all a bit dog ate my homework, isn't it?

Here's @davidallengreen arguing that the incremental reporting plan of the #CoronavirusInquiry means that 'we may end up up with that rare thing: an Inquiry where the findings & recommendations last longer than a news cycle'!

Let's hope so; so far the #CovidInquiry Chair & team seem to be playing their cards pretty well....

https://davidallengreen.com/2023/06/why-the-covid-inquiry-publishing-reports-as-it-goes-along-is-brilliant-news-and-a-welcome-change/

here's @davidallengreen detailed assessment of the risks (& benefits) facing both sides in the imminent #judicialreveiw of the scope of 'relevant' evidence for the #CovidInquiry;

as he strongly suggests (and has done previously) the result of the review will shape the subsequent #CoronavirusInquiry (and future inquiries) such that both sides - the inquiry team & the Cabinet office - will likely fight hard to try to ensure their view holds.

a long read but worth it!
https://davidallengreen.com/2023/06/a-detailed-explanation-of-the-governments-judicial-review-of-the-covid-inquiry-and-why-this-judicial-review-is-so-significant/

This week at the #CovidInquiry

The TUC will argue that the larger context of the #Coronavirus pandemic & the UK's response was shaped by the prior & ongoing period of #austerity!

This will be an interesting test of the breadth of the #CoronavirusInquiry but makes perfect sense;

the preparedness of the #NHS was crucially undermined by the ongoing programme of defunding;

the #NHS crisis was not caused by #covid; the covid crisis was partly caused by austerity!

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/jun/04/cameron-osborne-austerity-years-cost-uk-dearly-covid-tuc-union-claims-inquiry

While the #CovidInquiry is involved in an early trial of strength over evidence, its interesting to have a look at what other countries have been doing (or in a couple of cases not doing); so here's a useful sketch of other national #CoronavirusInquiry efforts from the Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jun/02/covid-pandemic-response-countries-outside-uk-scrutiny

As I hoped we now have @davidallengreen thoughts on the launching of a #judicalreveiw by the #CabinetOffice of the evidential request(s) by the #CoronavirusInquiry - as always DAG offers an authoritative but accessible account of the state-of-ply as of this morning.

(by all means rely on me relaying DAGs posts, but I'd definitely recommend following him yourself, even if only for the duration of the #CovidInquiry - you won't get much better insights in one place!)

https://davidallengreen.com/2023/06/understanding-the-governments-judicial-review-of-the-covid-inquiry/

#BorisJohnson's older phone is the one that the #CovidInquiry will be wanting to look at, not the one that he provided to the #CabinetOffice that he only started using well after the #lockdown had ended...

I'm now wondering whether that older phone might (as in the #RebekahVardy 'defence') 'accidentally' fall into the sea while Boris is holidaying on one of his chum's yachts?

Already the early days of the #CoronavirusInquiry are shaping up into a drama waiting for a TV adaptation....

#CovidInquiry latest:

The #CabinetOffice has decided not to hadn't over the unreacted material handed to them by #BorisJohnson & inset looks to be launching a legal challenge to control the evidence flow to the #CoronavirusInquiry.

Things are about to get very interesting.... and now I'm (also) waiting for @davidallengreen take on this.

This trial of (legal) strength will shape how the inquiry proceeds & how successful it will be at revealing what really went on in the decision-making.

#CoronavirusInquiry latest:

@davidallengreen asks, as the Cabinet Office tries to find a way of not providing evidence from #BorisJohnson's phone.... 'Will the Cabinet office blink? Or will the Covid Inquiry blink?'

Much depends (as DAG attests) on the answer!

https://davidallengreen.com/2023/05/how-the-covid-inquiry-may-have-set-an-elegant-spring-trap-for-the-cabinet-office/

And so it begins.... the #CoronavirusInquiry first big issue is making sure that its wide terms of reference are not (now) compromised by an attempt by the Govt. to control the flow of evidence....

as @davidallengreen puts it: 'the Covid Inquiry should not be hindered by the government deciding for itself what is and what is not relevant'!

As DAG makes clear, these early procedural battles will make or break the inquiry... here, he reflects on this first round

https://davidallengreen.com/2023/05/why-who-controls-the-flows-of-evidence-is-crucial-in-any-public-inquiry/

As the #CoronavirusInquiry gets under way you are going to need a good guide to the more arcane stuff;

now while (only sometimes) @davidallengreen posts can be a little like (what my American friends would call) 'inside baseball', nevertheless, he has a way of making things clearer that goes way beyond anything the mainstream media is going to offer you on this vital (the VITAL) inquiry of our time;

here's his thoughts on #BorisJohnson's disclosure & #lawyer problems

https://davidallengreen.com/2023/05/understanding-boris-johnsons-difficulty-with-the-cabinet-office-lawyers-and-why-it-may-have-wider-implications/

@richie @harriettmb

Indeed, and this is likely to come into even clearer focus with the #CoronavirusInquiry

Another instance of one law for us & another one for you:

You'll recall each time the #police are given new powers, or new types of #surveillance are rolled out, the #Tories tell us (often in these very words) 'of course, the innocent have nothing to fear'...

this logic now seems somewhat lacking from the Govt.s attempts to block the #CoronavirusInquiry's access to #Covid related material(s) from the #cabinet office....

Surely, if they've done other wrong....

Oh. wait a minute...