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Reuters
The prime minister has been accused of just wanting to meet people “who smile and don’t ask tough questions.”
Activists representing families whose loved ones have died from the coronavirus have accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson of being “ruthless” by refusing to meet with them.
Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice said it wrote Johnson five times to request a meeting.
When asked by reporters about the letters, the prime minister said that he would “of course” meet anyone who has lost to Covid-19.
But days later, he wrote to the group to say that he “couldn’t” meet with them.
The group, which claims to represent 1,600 families, said it was “devastated” to receive the letter, which it has made public.
Jo Goodman, Co-founder of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, said: “The Prime Minister has done a 360: dodging five letters, then he agreed to meet us on live TV and now he quietly tells us that he is too busy. It’s cruel. ”
“Of course, we know that the prime minister cannot meet all grieving people, but we really feel that he should meet with one of the largest groups of grieving families in the country.”
Goodman, who lost his father Stuart to the virus, added: “It seems we are the wrong kind of grieving people, as if the prime minister just wants to meet with people who will smile and not ask tough questions.”
A Downing Street spokesman said the prime minister remained committed to meeting with people who have lost their grief as a result of Covid-19, and that he was “resolute in his determination to defeat this virus” to avoid further “dire losses.”
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Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice calls for a statutory, independent, and judge-led public investigation into coronavirus deaths, which it wants to begin imminently.
Unlike other investigations, a statutory public investigation has the power to subpoena individuals and take evidence under oath.
In a television interview on August 26, Mr. Johnson was asked about the group’s claim that they wrote to him five times to request a meeting.
Johnson said he was not aware of the letters, but would meet with “anyone” who has lost a loved one to the virus.
“I will respond to every letter we receive and of course I will meet anyone … the afflicted who have suffered from Covid. Of course I will do that,” he said.
In an Aug. 29 letter published by the group, the prime minister offered his “deepest condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones.”
But he added: “As much as I wish I could offer my condolences in person to all those who have suffered losses, unfortunately that is not possible and that is why I cannot meet with you and members of Families Affected by Justice.”
Johnson went on to say that there would be an “independent investigation at an appropriate time” and that, as the campaign group has instructed the attorneys, any further correspondence related to an investigation “should go through the respective legal teams.”
In July, the prime minister vowed to conduct an independent investigation into the pandemic, but has repeatedly said the time was not right.
How could it be a query?
Independent consultations can take many forms, from full public consultations that can take years, or in some cases decades, and cost millions of pounds; to smaller-scale and faster investigations.
The idea is to hold the powerful accountable and try to learn lessons from decisions that have gone wrong, and how to avoid a repeat of scandals and tragic events in the future.
Recent examples of judge-led investigations include Leveson’s investigation into media standards, or the ongoing investigation into the Grenfell Tower catastrophe.
Other investigations, such as the 2009 Iraq investigation, led by a retired senior official, Sir John Chilcot, do not take evidence under oath.
The government in office is normally expected to adopt many, if not all, of the recommendations of an official investigation, although this is not always the case in practice.
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