Housing Secretary Michael Gove is due to give evidence at the Covid-19 inquiry, alongside former deputy chief medical officer Professor Dame Jenny Harries.
His evidence will come the day after the inquiry heard that former health secretary Matt Hancock knew Tier 3 lockdown restrictions would not work when he imposed them on Greater Manchester.
Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, accused the government of administering a “punishment beating” for the city in late 2020, following an argument over financial support for residents who were unable to work due to the restrictions.
Quoting from written evidence from Mr Hancock, Mr Burnham said: “He says in his evidence about Tier 3, ‘I was in despair that we had announced a policy that we knew would not work.’”
The tier system was introduced in October 2020 and imposed different restrictions on English regions in an effort to contain the spread of Covid-19.
The system was, however, unable to stem infections and a month-long national lockdown was introduced in November 2020, followed by a stricter tier system in December.
