Wednesday evening UK news briefing: Boris Johnson announces full public inquiry into Covid-19 crisis

Wednesday evening UK news briefing: Boris Johnson announces full public inquiry into Covid-19 crisis

Boris Johnson has announced a full public independent inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic, with spring 2022 named as the start date. It will be put on a statutory footing, meaning it will be underpinned by the Inquiries Act of 2005 and have legal powers such as compelling people to give evidence. Mr Johnson also told MPs that a "commemoration commission" will be formed to consider a national memorial to honour those who have died from Covid-19. It comes as the first major independent review of the crisis has found the worst ravages of the pandemic could have been avoided had the world not "lost" a month due to indecision and complacency. Read more on the report that called Covid-19 "the 21st century's Chernobyl moment" while Paul Nuki and Sarah Newey set out the 13 mistakes that plunged the world into chaos . Mr Johnson also warned in the Commons that the highly infectious coronavirus variant first detected in India is of "increasing concern" in the UK after isolated outbreaks have been detected across the country . The Prime Minister said that while scientists are reporting increasingly encouraging data at the current time, the threat of the virus remains "real" and