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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Covid-19: Bereaved Northern Ireland families in London for inquiry | Covid-19: Bereaved Northern Ireland families in London for inquiry |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Representatives from five families are travelling to London on Tuesday morning | Representatives from five families are travelling to London on Tuesday morning |
| Families from Northern Ireland who lost relatives during the coronavirus pandemic have said they are determined to ensure they are not a footnote in the UK's public inquiry. | Families from Northern Ireland who lost relatives during the coronavirus pandemic have said they are determined to ensure they are not a footnote in the UK's public inquiry. |
| Representatives from five families travelled to London on Tuesday to watch the next stage of the Covid-19 Inquiry. | |
| The relatives said it was important to have a presence at the hearing. | |
| They want to stress the magnitude of loss suffered during the pandemic. | |
| None of those from Northern Ireland were due to give evidence on Tuesday. | |
| But they joined a national demonstration of more than 1,000 families outside the hearing who said they felt "marginalised and excluded by the inquiry". | |
| The Northern Ireland groups also said they had grave concerns about the inquiry's decision to call only one of their members as a witness in the first module. | |
| What is the UK Covid inquiry and how long will it take? | What is the UK Covid inquiry and how long will it take? |
| They objected to the decision to run a parallel process to the inquiry - Every Story Matters - whereby bereaved families talked about their experiences, which are then written up in a report to be shared with the inquiry. | |
| They said they feared this could be "open to bias and interpretation by third parties". | |
| "Our sole concern is saving lives, which is why we want to support the work of the inquiry by providing our unique, and unenviable perspective," they said. | |
| Brenda Doherty and her mother Ruth Burke who died with Covid-19 | Brenda Doherty and her mother Ruth Burke who died with Covid-19 |
| Among them is Brenda Doherty, whose mother Ruth Burke had Covid-19, and was among the first deaths in Northern Ireland during the pandemic. | Among them is Brenda Doherty, whose mother Ruth Burke had Covid-19, and was among the first deaths in Northern Ireland during the pandemic. |
| The NI Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice campaign said the video is powerful and will remind people why Northern Ireland needs its own inquiry. | The NI Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice campaign said the video is powerful and will remind people why Northern Ireland needs its own inquiry. |
| The UK inquiry is due to hear oral evidence from families, several politicians and health professionals in July. | The UK inquiry is due to hear oral evidence from families, several politicians and health professionals in July. |
| The first module of the inquiry continues to assess if the pandemic was properly planned for and whether the UK was adequately ready. | The first module of the inquiry continues to assess if the pandemic was properly planned for and whether the UK was adequately ready. |
| Keep people safe | Keep people safe |
| The Northern Ireland campaign group is led by two bereaved daughters, Ms Doherty and Martina Ferguson, whose mother, Ursula Derry, contracted the virus in a care home and died in January 2021. | The Northern Ireland campaign group is led by two bereaved daughters, Ms Doherty and Martina Ferguson, whose mother, Ursula Derry, contracted the virus in a care home and died in January 2021. |
| Ms Ferguson said the families are continuing to honour lost loved ones by ensuring everything is done to keep people safe in the future. | Ms Ferguson said the families are continuing to honour lost loved ones by ensuring everything is done to keep people safe in the future. |
| "Nobody wants to be in our position but as, sadly, so many of us in Northern Ireland find ourselves missing a loved one to Covid-19 we will come together to make sure our voices are heard loud and clear," she added. | "Nobody wants to be in our position but as, sadly, so many of us in Northern Ireland find ourselves missing a loved one to Covid-19 we will come together to make sure our voices are heard loud and clear," she added. |
| Related Topics | Related Topics |
| Coronavirus public inquiry | Coronavirus public inquiry |