Who has most to fear from the public inquiry into Covid?

Political reputations could take a hit but key players are no longer in office, says Sean O’Grady

Personal messages left for those who died during the pandemic on the National Covid Memorial Wall (Getty)

The independent Covid-19 public inquiry has begun its preliminary hearings, just over three years after the first cases were identified in the UK. It has heard submissions from barristers representing families bereaved by coronavirus based in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and an outline of the organisations who will submit evidence in main phases of the inquiry.

What has happened so far?

At this stage, the inquiry is setting out how the process will be run. With a large number of interested parties, documentary and sometimes technical clinical and demographic data, organisation is itself a formidable logistical challenge. And as well as being complex and highly charged, it is also complicated by the parallel Scottish inquiry.