Today we’re very pleased to be able to share our new video of some of our members sharing their stories and why they believe the government must commit to a Covid inquiry now, not at some unconfirmed time down the line. We’d love you to share this to get the stories out, to show that these are people not just statistics and that action needs to be taken now in advance of a potential second wave.

Yesterday, many of you will have seen that the prime minister committed to an independent inquiry of some kind. While this is definitely progress and shows that the pressure is starting to work, it’s important to recognise a number of things that were not said. Firstly, there was no indication as to whether the inquiry would be a statutory public inquiry, meaning that families would have the right to participate and that the inquiry would have the power to access the evidence and witnesses needed to properly investigate what went wrong. Most crucially, there was no indication of a timeframe.

We firmly believe that the first phase of any such inquiry must begin now in order to learn lessons quickly and in advance of a potential second wave. A report released this week revealed that this could lead to 120,000 further deaths over Autumn and Winter and it became clear at PMQs yesterday that the prime minister has yet to even read the report and its recommendations. The next three months are crucial. We urgently need the government to learn lessons and take action around issues such as supplies of PPE, timing of local and national lockdowns and how critical cases are identified through services such as 111.

It means so much to have so many people behind us and while yesterday represents a win of some kind for the campaign, we cannot give up now. The lives of so many of our fellow citizens depend on this.