Covid inquiry latest: Brexit hindered pandemic response, counsel says – The Telegraph

The Covid inquiry has partially blamed Brexit for the countrys failure to preparefor a pandemic.

On the opening day of the inquiry, Hugo Keith KC, counsel to the inquiry, saidthat preparing for Brexit crowded out and prevented the work that was needed to improve pandemic preparedness.

The inquiry has yet to hear evidence from witnesses but Mr Keith said he feared that Brexit had weakened the UKs response to the pandemic rather than strengthened its preparedness.

The pandemic struck the United Kingdom just as it was leaving the European Union, he said.That departure required an enormous amount of planning and preparation, particularly to address what were likely to be the severe consequences of a no-deal exit on food and medicine supplies, travel and transport, business borders and so on.

It is clear that such planning, from 2018 onwards, crowded out and prevented some or perhaps a majority of the improvements that central government itself understood were required to be made to resilience planning and preparedness.

He said that there was a question over whether preparations for a no deal Brexit had harmed contingency plans for a pandemic or had it led to better training or medicalsupplies.

Did the attention therefore paid to the risks of a no-deal exit - Operation Yellowhammer as it was known - drain the resources and capacity that should have been continuing the fight against the next pandemic, that should have been utilised in preparing the United Kingdom for civil emergency?

Or did all that generic and operational planning in fact lead to people being better trained and well-marshalled and, in fact, better prepared to deal with Covid and also to the existence of improved trade, medicine and supply links?

My lady, on the evidence so far - but it will be a matter for you - we very much fear that it was the former.

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Covid inquiry latest: Brexit hindered pandemic response, counsel says - The Telegraph