Heartbreak of the bereaved families who could be ‘sidelined’ from Covid inquiry

Jo Goodman says her dad got her shielding letter nine days after he died from Covid in 2020

Jo Goodman lost her father Stuart at the start of the pandemic (Jo Goodman)

A daughter whose father received his shielding letter nine days after he died from Covid has raised fears that bereaved families will be left out of the public inquiry into the government’s handling of the pandemic.

The Covid inquiry began today at Dorland House in London – over three years after the pandemic started in 2020.

The inquiry found that a lockdown was given “very little thought” before the pandemic began and there was a failure to consider the “potentially massive impact” it might have.

The Covid inquiry’s lead counsel, Hugo Keith KC, also said the probe had found that there was a lack of forethought regarding some of the major areas of life affected by the outbreak of coronavirus.

Jo Goodman, co-founder of Covid Bereaved Families for Justice UK, lost her “incredibly warm” and “supportive” father at the start of the pandemic. He contracted Covid the week before the UK went into lockdown, and died soon after on 2 April 2020.

Stuart Goodman, a retired press photographer, was 72 when he died from Covid. It left Jo and her family heartbroken because they felt his death “didn’t need to happen”.

Ms Goodman told The Independent: “My dad was a one-off – you’d meet him once and remember him years later. He was a big character, incredibly warm and the most supportive father you could wish to have.

Stuart Goodman was a retired press photographer working on a photography book (Jo Goodman)

“It’s easy to write people off but he wasn’t sitting around waiting to die – he was about to publish a photography book.

“I’ve got a baby now who will never know his grandfather – nothing can bring him back or undo how that feels.”

Explaining what happened, Ms Goodman said her family believe Stuart may have picked Covid up when he went to a hospital appointment on 18 March and there were “no mitigations in place”.

She continued: “Sadly we knew he was very vulnerable due to his age and health conditions and he went downhill very quickly.

“I mainly felt it didn’t need to happen. We had done everything. Our family had put ourselves into lockdown and shielded. But my dad got his shielding letter nine days after he died. We did everything in our power to protect him but the state didn’t – he didn’t need to die.”

Jo Goodman says her dad was a ‘one off’ (Jo Goodman)

Ms Goodman co-founded Covid Bereaved Families for Justice UK with Matt Fowler, who also lost his father to the virus. She contacted him after spotting a comment he made under an article in The Independent which featured Ms Goodman.

She said they felt that bereaved families needed a voice and the idea for the inquiry was subsequently born.

Ms Goodman continued: “We wanted to minimise the risk of people losing loved ones to this in the future. Preventing was our motivation.

“The initial phase of campaigning and demoralising because our grief was so fresh. People were joining the group on a daily basis and it felt like everyone was having similar experiences. It was heartbreaking because it felt like these losses could have been prevented. We felt a weight of responsibility to protect people who were yet to be bereaved.”

Ms Goodman added that Boris Johnson and his government were saying they were “too busy” to meet the group.

Bereaved people hold pictures of loved ones lost to Covid as they gather outside Dorland House in London, the venue of the inquiry (PA)

Speaking about the launch of the Covid inquiry, Ms Goodman said today is a “momentous” occasion but that she’s “quite concerned that bereaved families are being somewhat sidelined”.

She was potentially going to be called as one of the witnesses for module one of the inquiry, but wasn’t in the end.

Ms Goodman said: “By listening to stories from bereaved families there’s way of understanding what was happening in the rest of the country. A proportionate number of witnesses would help to reveal failings in the response.”

Aamer Anwar, a lawyer representing the Scottish Covid Bereaved group, said that listening to personal experiences from the crisis is vital in learning how to handle any future pandemics.

He told The Independent there is “no one in the country” who wasn’t impacted by Covid but it’s like “people’s bodies were treated like toxic waste”.

Mr Anwar’s father, a care home resident, had dementia and didn’t understand what was happening in the country.

Baroness Hallett is chairing the Covid inquiry (PA)

He said: “I know the agony and pain of watching someone with dementia not understanding what is happening and not being able to visit them, and meanwhile untested people were being allowed into care homes. It was shocking. People felt powerless.”

Mr Anwar said the families he speaks to want “answers and truth”.

He added: “Today was very important. It’s a start. We realise the complexity of it but for families who have lost loved ones this is about finding truth and creating a legacy for the future”.

A number of the bereaved with whom Mr Anwar has worked shared their stories of loss at the press conference.

Among them was Carolyn Murdoch, 67, who lost her father John Connelly to Covid in early 2020.

She said: “My dad went into a care home on the 27 of February 2020 where he contracted Covid-19 in April 2020 despite the government promising to throw a safety ring around them. He sadly passed away on the 23rd of April in Glasgow Royal Infirmary alone at the age of 104 as no one was allowed to be with him.

The memorial wall for the victims of Covid-19 in London (AP)

“Myself and the rest of the family have been left heartbroken by the circumstances of his death. We were unable to support or comfort each other as we grieved him. He was a kind, loving family man and was known affectionately as our ‘Legend’. I hope the inquiry’s findings ensure that the same mistakes don’t happen again.”

The Covid inquiry is expected to cost more than £100m.