Covid inquiry report exposes failures ‘at heart of Westminster’, Plaid Cymru leader says

A report by MPs into the UK Government’s initial handling of the Covid pandemic has exposed the failures at the heart of Westminster, the leader of Plaid Cymru has said.

Adam Price MS has called the report “sobering, damning, devastating” after it said the UK’s failure to do more to stop Covid spreading early in the pandemic was one of the worst ever public health failures.

He also said that the report, which examines the initial UK response to the covid pandemic, only contains 9 mentions of Wales in its 147 pages, showed that it was more important than ever for a “Wales-only public inquiry”.

Responding to the House of Commons report on lessons learned to date, Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price MS said: “Sobering, damning, devastating. This report exposes the fatalistic approach at the heart of this Westminster Government which led to tens of thousands of lost lives in one of the UK’s worst ever public health failures.

“Too slow to respond, too late to lockdown, and too arrogant to learn from countries with greater expertise, this report must forever put to bed Westminster politicians’ conceited belief that they are somehow unique in the world.

“Meanwhile, with only 9 mentions in the 147-page report, Wales is resigned to the footnotes.

‘Wales-only public inquiry’

“It is now more important than ever that we get a Wales-only public inquiry into the handling of the pandemic. We cannot settle for a mere chapter in a UK-wide inquiry.

“We need to look at what happened in detail, and in public, to learns lessons for the future – there should be no avoidance of detailed scrutiny.

“The people of Wales – and the bereaved families – will expect and deserve nothing less.”