“We coped, but only just”. Head of the Covid-19 inquiry, Baroness Hallet, gives a DAMNING review of the BORIS JOHNSON government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The NHS was on the CUSP OF COLLAPSE and was saved by the “extraordinary efforts” of NHS staff, according to the new Covid-19 report released this morning.
The report finds the impact was “unsurprising” given decades of underfunding, staff shortages, and hospital beds, but the government still failed to respond adequately.
(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)
It also finds that the government’s official message – ‘Stay Home and Protect the NHS’ – was deadly. People didn’t want to be a “burden” and were terrified of catching the virus in hospital, the report says.
The inquiry found it sent a message that “healthcare was closed,” scaring people away from A&E even during heart attacks.
It also says the government failed to inform the public that the infection was spread through “aerosol transmission”.
According to the report, the famous government slogan, ‘Hands, Face, Space,’ was another piece of misleading messaging.
The scale of the human cost in failures of care is another core feature of the report. Over 20,000 people died, many of whom “did not receive the quality of treatment they needed”.
(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
Cancer screenings were paused, leading to a “steep drop” in diagnoses and conditions becoming untreatable. And, discharging patients into care homes without proper planning was a critical error made in the “turbulent” early stages.
Staff at risk
Personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies were “particularly constrained” at the start of the pandemic, which put healthcare staff in danger.
The report highlights how supplies of PPE were “particularly constrained” at the start of the pandemic, with staff sometimes having to work with inadequate and unsuitable PPE.
(AP Photo/Daniel Cole, File)
The government’s securing of PPE has previously come under scrutiny. The former Tory government has been accused of cronyism as contracts were given to inexperienced companies, leading to waste and unusable PPE.
In 2025, a High Court judge ruled that PPE Medpro, a company linked to Conservative peer Baroness Michelle Mone and her husband Doug Barrowman, breached a government contract to supply surgical gowns during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The company was ordered to repay £122 million to the Department of Health and Social Care.
The Covid-19 inquiry has cost the public finances over £300 million pounds, making it the most expensive public inquiry on record. The Government has said it’s spent over £100 million pounds responding to the inquiry, covering legal advice and staffing costs.
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HeadlineNHS nearly COLLAPSED during Covid-19 Pandemic
Short HeadlineNHS nearly COLLAPSED during Covid
StandfirstHEROIC staff saved the NHS, while the government failed to respond, the LATEST Covid-19 report has found.
“We coped, but only just”. Head of the Covid-19 inquiry, Baroness Hallet, gives a DAMNING review of the BORIS JOHNSON government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The NHS was on the CUSP OF COLLAPSE and was saved by the “extraordinary efforts” of NHS staff, according to the new Covid-19 report released this morning.
The report finds the impact was “unsurprising” given decades of underfunding, staff shortages, and hospital beds, but the government still failed to respond adequately.
(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)
It also finds that the government’s official message – ‘Stay Home and Protect the NHS’ – was deadly. People didn’t want to be a “burden” and were terrified of catching the virus in hospital, the report says.
The inquiry found it sent a message that “healthcare was closed,” scaring people away from A&E even during heart attacks.
It also says the government failed to inform the public that the infection was spread through “aerosol transmission”.
According to the report, the famous government slogan, ‘Hands, Face, Space,’ was another piece of misleading messaging.
The scale of the human cost in failures of care is another core feature of the report. Over 20,000 people died, many of whom “did not receive the quality of treatment they needed”.
(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
Cancer screenings were paused, leading to a “steep drop” in diagnoses and conditions becoming untreatable. And, discharging patients into care homes without proper planning was a critical error made in the “turbulent” early stages.
Staff at risk
Personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies were “particularly constrained” at the start of the pandemic, which put healthcare staff in danger.
The report highlights how supplies of PPE were “particularly constrained” at the start of the pandemic, with staff sometimes having to work with inadequate and unsuitable PPE.
(AP Photo/Daniel Cole, File)
The government’s securing of PPE has previously come under scrutiny. The former Tory government has been accused of cronyism as contracts were given to inexperienced companies, leading to waste and unusable PPE.
In 2025, a High Court judge ruled that PPE Medpro, a company linked to Conservative peer Baroness Michelle Mone and her husband Doug Barrowman, breached a government contract to supply surgical gowns during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The company was ordered to repay £122 million to the Department of Health and Social Care.
The Covid-19 inquiry has cost the public finances over £300 million pounds, making it the most expensive public inquiry on record. The Government has said it’s spent over £100 million pounds responding to the inquiry, covering legal advice and staffing costs.
