Your report about the start of the Covid-19 inquiry notes the concern of some of the bereaved that their testimonies are to be heard by an outsourced communications company and that they feel “marginalised” because they expected to give direct evidence to the inquiry (Covid-19 public inquiry opens amid anger from bereaved over testimony, 4 October).
Apart from wondering why the chair, Lady Hallett, didn’t start the public phase with some of these testimonies as a mark of respect and intent, her response to Pete Weatherby KC, representing the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, is deeply worrying: “There is absolutely no question that the bereaved will be marginalised and I really don’t want to hear that expression again.”
When families feel they are being marginalised, telling their representative that you don’t want to hear that word is not the right way to resolve their concerns.
John Beer
Vice-president, Hourglass
• My family of four endured all of the losses mentioned by Lady Hallett, the worst being the unnecessary slow, traumatic and lonely death of my beloved mother in March 2020. The nature of her demise still haunts me today.
My son suffered the loss of educational opportunities. His dream place at Cambridge University was taken away from him due to the fiasco of the 2020 A-level results.
My daughter’s graduation ceremony at St Andrews University was reduced to a five-second mention of her name and degree in a video. Her subsequent master’s degree at the Courtauld Institute of Art was all online, with no visits to galleries or museums.
The business that my husband and I ran could not operate throughout the restrictions, and the financial loss was crippling.
It goes without saying that all four of us in my family suffered extreme mental anguish due to all these factors. Like many others, we are still trying to rebuild our lives.
Suzi Reed
Ferryhill, County Durham
