This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-65884266

The article has changed 11 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Covid-19: Bereaved Northern Ireland families in London for inquiry Covid-19: Bereaved Northern Ireland families in London for inquiry
(about 2 hours later)
Representatives from five families are travelling to London on Tuesday morning Representatives from five NI families travelled to London on Tuesday
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. Northern Ireland was 18 months behind the rest of the UK in pandemic preparedness, a lawyer has told the UK Covid-19 Inquiry.
Representatives from five families travelled to London on Tuesday to watch the next stage of the Covid-19 Inquiry. Ronan Lavery, KC, who represents Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice NI, was speaking at the start of the inquiry's public hearings in London.
The relatives said it was important to have a presence at the hearing. The inquiry was launched by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2021.
They want to stress the magnitude of loss suffered during the pandemic. It will cover pandemic decision-making in Westminster and the devolved administrations.
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?
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-19Brenda 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. The first strand will examine the preparedness of the UK and assess if the pandemic was planned for properly.
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. Opening the inquiry, the chair Lady Heather Hallett noted the "dignified vigil of bereaved family members holding photographs of their loved ones" when she arrived on Tuesday.
The UK inquiry is due to hear oral evidence from families, several politicians and health professionals in July. "Their grief was obvious to all," she said.
The first module of the inquiry continues to assess if the pandemic was properly planned for and whether the UK was adequately ready. Mr Lavery told the inquiry that people in Northern Ireland were at a "distinct disadvantage".
Keep people safe He told the inquiry that a large part of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 did not apply to Northern Ireland and that the problem was not just devolution, but that in 2004 the NI executive and the Assembly were in suspension.
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. "There was no equivalent devolved legislation ever introduced despite this being a key recommendation of the Cygnus report and despite the Northern Ireland Secretary of State's expectation in 2005 that Northern Ireland would have 'a similar level of protection for its citizens as experienced elsewhere'," he said.
Ms Ferguson said the families are continuing to honour lost loved ones by ensuring everything is done to keep people safe in the future. Exercise Cygnus was a cross-government exercise designed to test the UK's response to a serious influenza pandemic which took place in 2016.
"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. The inquiry also heard that there was "a lack of knowledge among political leaders as well in relation to central government planning and preparedness and the reasons for it".
He added that Northern Ireland did not attend important UK-wide pandemic meetings before March 2020.
There was a disconnect between Westminster and Stormont, he said, adding:
a request by Professor Ian Young, NI's chief scientific advisor, to join the chief scientific advisor UK network was turned down
there was no record of Northern Ireland participating in important SAGE (Special Advisory Group for Emergencies) and Cobra meetings before March 2020
political dysfunction in Northern Ireland meant it was unprepared for the pandemic
"Northern Ireland was more than 18 months behind the rest of the UK in terms of ensuring sector resilience to any pandemic flu outbreak," he said.
What is the UK Covid inquiry and how long will it take?
At the start of the day the inquiry showed a video hearing testimony from bereaved family members, including those from Northern Ireland.
Some had travelled to London for the first day.
Brenda Doherty said her mother was one of the first to die at the start of the first lockdown in March 2020. "Mum was our world," she said.
"Mum was our world," she said.
"It's a very important part of history and history has to reflect the truth of what happened to families like mine."
Catriona Clarke talked about losing her 67-year-old father to "hospital-acquired Covid" in December 2020.
"The circumstances surrounding the lead-up to his death and his eventual demise will haunt us for the rest of our lives," she said.
"We need to know that lessons will be learned and that future generations will be safeguarded from the heartache that we have had to suffer," she said.
Related TopicsRelated Topics
Coronavirus public inquiryCoronavirus public inquiry