That completes the hearings for Module 10- our last module.
The evidence called in this Module has been both powerful and moving. I am extremely grateful to everyone who provided statements and material and attended the roundtables. I am especially grateful to those who contributed to Every Story Matters and the impact film and those who gave evidence for Module 10. It takes great courage to speak in public about loss and trauma.
It was important to hear their stories and to understand the full extent of the impact of the pandemic. There are people who believe it is time to move on from the pandemic and question the worth of this Inquiry. I hope that when they read about the extent of the suffering and see the results of our work, they will appreciate the huge scale of loss caused by Covid -19 and why this Inquiry was established.
I have said throughout that my aim is to make recommendations to improve pandemic planning, response and recovery so as to reduce the scale of that loss in any future pandemic. If implemented, my recommendations should reduce the number of deaths, reduce the suffering and reduce the social and economic cost to the country.
I should emphasise that my recommendations are based on a vast amount of material gathered and analysed over the course of the Inquiry by the Inquiry team. We have received and reviewed over 600,000 documents and disclosed over 300,000 to Core Participants. We have published 10 Every Story Matters records, based on thousands of stories. We have held over 200 sitting days here in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast and we have called over 350 witnesses.
Some may ask why so many documents, so many witnesses and so many stories? The answer is simple: because my terms of reference set by the then Prime Minister after public consultation, are the broadest of any public Inquiry to date. I was given the task of investigating not just one tragic event or series of events but the response to the Covid 19 pandemic and its impact on the whole of the UK.
To complete the Inquiry hearings in under 4 years from our official start date and to complete the Inquiry in under 5 years (as we shall do) is, to my mind, an extraordinary achievement. I can say that because I am not taking the credit.
The credit goes to all those in front of and behind the scenes: those, who have gathered and analysed the material (especially our paralegals), to those who arranged and managed the hearings and the witnesses, to RTS our tech team, to document managers especially one stalwart who has been with me throughout), to our long suffering stenographers, security staff, ushers, the support and safeguarding team, the researchers and policy team, the media and engagement team, the Every Story Matters team, the legal editors, private office teams and, of course, the material providers. They have done an incredible job. As have the witnesses - some of whom have given evidence several times.
A huge amount of credit also goes to the various legal teams: the Inquiry legal team and the Core participant legal teams. I should like to offer my special thanks to them. Some of them have been with me throughout or in nearly every module. They have put up with my interventions with good grace and charm. Thank you. We would not have got to this stage without your industry and professionalism.
We now move from conducting public hearings, as we have done since 2023, to a new phase of the Inquiry where I will be regularly publishing my reports and recommendations. The rest of this year the Inquiry will be focussing on the reports for modules 3-10. Most of them will be published throughout 2026. Only the reports for Modules 8, 9 and 10 will be published in 2027.
Why so long? Because again a huge amount of work goes into getting my recommendations right, and the reports ready for publication and presentation to Parliament. I confess I had little idea of the amount of work involved until I embarked upon this Inquiry. However, I have been publishing my recommendations as soon as they are available, module by module, because I am aware that the next pandemic could occur at any time.
I hope that when all 10 reports have been published they will prove the value of this Inquiry and justify the costs. I said at the outset that this Inquiry would cost a lot of money and take time. It has done. But I genuinely believe it has been worth it.
I encourage the public and followers of the Inquiry (who wish to do so) to push for the changes I recommend and for those responsible for implementing my recommendations to do so. Whilst I remain in post, I will be monitoring implementation.
The United Kingdom must learn lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic, to be better prepared for the next pandemic - because we all know there will be one.
This Sunday, 8 March, is the National Covid Day of Reflection. The families who lost loved ones, the key workers who risked their lives and the general public who made enormous sacrifices during the pandemic deserve to see meaningful change.