Last week we finally received a response from the Government. They have told us they are unable to meet us “due to the pandemic”. This simply isn’t good enough.
Lives are still being lost every day and many more may be at risk in future waves without proper coordinated strategic action.
The Prime Minister’s woolly words committing to an ‘independent inquiry’ without confirming when this will begin or what form it will take leaves us deeply worried. Their reluctance to engage openly with what went wrong and what needs to change could cost many more lives before the pandemic is over.
Why we are initiating legal action
For this reason, we have today instructed our lawyers to send a pre-action letter to the Government. It advises them of our intention to initiate proceedings in the High Court to secure a proper statutory public inquiry with an urgent immediate phase.
Today, we have launched a crowdfunding appeal to cover our legal costs and protect families in the event that we are unsuccessful in the courts.
Please contribute what you can
None of our members are in a position to take this case on their own and we are unable to risk being personally pursued for costs should the case be unsuccessful. We will only be able to go forward with our legal challenge if we are able to secure enough funds so we’d be hugely grateful if you are able to contribute:
www.crowdfunder.co.uk/covidinquirynow
Any excess raised will be put towards getting professional support for our campaign, setting ourselves up as an organisation and other campaigning costs – this will also be how funds are used if for any reason we are unable to go forward with the legal challenge. Our lawyers are currently working pro-bono on this case.
Share the message
Our strength is in our numbers and how many people we have behind us. If we’re able to raise enough we’ll have a great opportunity for families to truly be heard and lessons to be learned. We know it is a difficult time for many, so if you can't contribute that's ok - you can still be a part of this by encouraging others to contribute to our appeal by sharing our post on Facebook or clicking here to tweet.
Thanks again for your support,
All at Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice