Watch live: Former PM David Cameron, Health Permanent Secretary Sir Chris Wormald and director general Clara Swinson give evidence at the COVID Inquiry
Beginning with"emergency architecture", David Cameron says a potential influenza pandemic was"seen as the greatest danger" but more questions could have been asked about other diseases.
The British Medical Association said he and George Osborne must be"taken to task" over decisions that"left us so unprepared" for the pandemic. "It is therefore critical that Cameron, Osborne and [Jeremy] Hunt are taken to task over the decisions they made that left us so unprepared."Where can you watch the inquiry?
The unions federation said the prime minister and George Osbourne, the chancellor at the time , ignored warnings about the impact of austerity on the UK's preparedness, and instead"pushed millions into poverty". "Their policies weakened the foundations of our society by hollowing out our public services and shredding our safety net.
A report by the Trades Union Congress found that when the pandemic began in 2020, spending per capita was lower than in 2010 in social care, transport, housing, childcare, schools, higher education, police, fire services and environmental protection. Successive governments since 2010 hadn't adapted to the increasing threat of new infectious and zoonotic diseases, and were not prepared enough to mitigate disproportional suffering for the most vulnerable parts of the population.
He will be followed by Chris Wormald, who was appointed permanent secretary at the Department of Health in May 2016, meaning he led the day-to-day running of the department during the pandemic.
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