The Private Notes And Secret Documents That Tell The Inside Story Of The Uk's Covid Response

It was nan astir momentous arena successful UK history since World War Two. As a caller microorganism took hold, millions of america were told to enactment astatine location and billions of pounds were spent propping up nan country's economy.

The Covid enquiry will people its 2nd group of findings later today, looking successful item astatine nan immense governmental choices made astatine nan clip - including really lockdowns were introduced, nan closure of businesses and schools, and bringing successful antecedently unthinkable societal restrictions.

"Did nan authorities service nan group well, aliases did it neglect them?" asked nan lead counsel astatine nan commencement of this portion of nan enquiry successful 2023. Since past much than 7,000 documents person been made nationalist from nan time, including WhatsApp chats and emails, backstage diaries and confidential files.

Here, BBC News has picked retired immoderate of nan urgent messages and scribbled notes that radiance a ray connected really captious decisions were taken successful 2020.

On 2 January 2020 an update appears connected ProMed, a work utilized by wellness workers to pass of emerging diseases.

"World Health Organization successful touch pinch Beijing aft enigma viral pneumonia outbreak," it says.

"Twenty-seven group - astir of them stallholders astatine nan Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market - treated successful hospital."

The adjacent time England's lawman main aesculapian officer, Jonathan Van Tam, sends nan bulletin connected to Peter Horby, a professor astatine Oxford University and chair of Nervtag, a group that advises nan authorities connected caller viral threats.

By nan extremity of January, it's clear nan wellness authorities successful Wuhan person a awesome problem connected their hands.

The lawman ambassador to China, Christina Scott, sends a cablegram backmost to London marked DIPTEL BEJING (Sensitive) comparing nan business to nan outbreak of different microorganism - SARS - successful 2003.

"Hubei state connected lockdown; aggregate cities person carrier restrictions. Memory of SARS cover-up ensures residual distrust of authorities response," it says.

"They will do everything they tin to quickly power this outbreak. But nan situation of doing truthful is substantial."

The microorganism spreads to Thailand and South Korea and past to Iran and bluish Italy.

At lunchtime connected Saturday 7 March nan UK's past premier minister, Boris Johnson, is chatting connected WhatsApp to his wellness caput Matt Hancock up of nan England vs Wales crippled astatine Twickenham.

Days later, nan Cheltenham equine racing show goes up and Atletico Madrid fans are allowed to alert from Spain to Liverpool to watch their squad play successful nan Champions League.

The government's strategy, backed by its technological advisers, is to effort to incorporate early outbreaks by isolating those pinch nan microorganism and tracing immoderate contacts.

The scheme is past to move to a "delay phase" arsenic afloat organization transmission is established – utilizing policies for illustration location isolation proposal for those pinch symptoms to "flatten nan curve" of nan pandemic truthful that hospitals do not go overwhelmed.

But nan microorganism is spreading overmuch faster than expected and it‘s quickly becoming clear to galore scientists that acold stronger action will beryllium needed.

On Friday 13 March, 2 elder No 10 officials are sitting successful a cardinal gathering of technological advisers successful Whitehall.

"WE ARE NOT READY," one writes successful superior letters successful his notepad. The different leans complete and crosses retired "NOT READY", replacing it pinch an expletive.

That weekend, nan premier minister's main adviser, Dominic Cummings, is locked successful a bid of meetings pinch nan PM and a fistful of prime unit arsenic a caller strategy takes shape.

Grainy smartphone images show whiteboards successful No 10 full of hand-drawn charts and scrawled slug points.

One chart suggests that, if nan microorganism was allowed to tally its people without immoderate restrictions successful place, past much than 100,000 group would dice "in [hospital] corridors" successful nan coming wave.

On Sunday 15 March, Cummings sends a WhatsApp to Johnson:

"FYI – [Patrick] Vallance [the main technological adviser] is connected committee pinch what will NEVER beryllium discussed arsenic Plan B."

"[In a] nutshell: we move done nan gears to [do] immoderate we request to extremity NHS illness and bargain clip to summation capacity."

Over nan pursuing week, Covid rules crossed nan UK are tightened.

People are advised, but not legally required, to debar each non-essential interaction and activity from location wherever possible. Then schools are closed, followed by pubs, restaurants, gyms and cinemas.

But still location are concerns that moreover those measures are not beardown enough. On Sunday 22 March, London's mayor, Sadiq Khan, writes a backstage missive to Johnson.

The adjacent evening, successful a televised reside watched by 27 cardinal people, nan premier curate tells nan nationalist they must enactment astatine location arsenic he announces nan first nationalist lockdown.

It will now beryllium up to nan enquiry to determine if making that telephone earlier could person saved lives and yet reduced nan full clip that group had to enactment locked indoors.

Over nan adjacent period immoderate hospitals do travel nether terrible unit pinch intensive attraction units spilling into corridors and broadside rooms. Pre-planned aliases elective attraction is put connected clasp but astatine nary constituent does nan NHS person to move distant emergency patients.

Covid infections, hospitalisations and deaths commencement to fall.

But nan costs of lockdown restrictions is huge: acquisition is disrupted, loneliness and intelligence wellness problems get worse, and jobs and businesses are impacted.

On 22 May, Johnson sends a handwritten statement to his officials asking for a scheme to "start cognition BOUNCEBACK".

That period immoderate restrictions statesman to beryllium lifted – soon groups of six are capable to meet outdoors and schools commencement a phased re-opening.

In nan summer, then-chancellor Rishi Sunak tries to boost nan system pinch his Eat Out to Help Out strategy - 50% disconnected nutrient and drinks for 3 days a week successful August.

The thought is good received by nan hospitality manufacture but location are concerns astir nan wellness impact.

On WhatsApp (with pronunciation mistakes), Hancock warns Simon Case, past nan astir elder civilian servant successful Downing Street, that it's causing problems successful involution areas - that’s those section authorities pinch nan highest infection rates.

In his grounds to nan inquiry, Sunak plays down a nexus betwixt his strategy and nan dispersed of nan virus saying a 2nd activity "happened successful each different state successful Europe".

But that hostility – betwixt controlling Covid and protecting nan system – becomes moreover much aggravated done nan autumn.

Many scientists advising nan authorities want to spot tighter rules. They run for a short "circuit breaker" lockdown to effort to thrust down infections.

At times nan documents propose nan premier curate supports tougher restrictions, astatine others he appears wished to debar different strict nationalist lockdown astatine each costs.

On WhatsApp Johnson's closest aides kick astir his decision-making – utilizing an emoji of a surgery trolly arsenic he appears to swerve from 1 argumentation position to another.

"This authorities doesn't person nan credibility needed to beryllium imposing worldly wrong only days of deciding not to," writes Case, who is now nan caller furniture secretary, to Cummings and Lee Cain, No 10 head of communications, connected 14 October.

"We look for illustration a terrible, tragic joke. If we were going hard, that determination was needed weeks ago. I cannot header pinch this."

In his grounds to nan inquiry, Case later says he regrets expressing his "at-the-moment frustrations" pinch Johnson, whom he "barely knew" astatine nan time.

In his evidence, Johnson defends his ain activity style, saying his views changed pinch nan technological evidence, and he often adopted definite positions because he wanted to perceive nan antagonistic arguments.

As nan nights tie successful that autumn, it becomes clear that existing restrictions successful England - including a 10pm curfew and nan alleged gradual strategy of section controls - are not going to beryllium capable to power nan virus.

By nan extremity of October, nan premier minister's vexation is evident successful nan agelong statement he scrawls astatine nan extremity of a Covid briefing document marked OFFICIAL/SENSITIVE.

In tightly spaced handwriting, Johnson pens 22 elaborate points complete 2 A4 pages of nan document.

He approves of strengthening immoderate section restrictions but bemoans nan "terrible cost" and wonders "for HOW LONG?"

"Is NHS T&T [test and trace] really achieving ANYTHING?" he asks astatine 1 point.

A week later, connected 5 November 2020, England does participate its 2nd nationalist lockdown, this clip lasting 4 weeks, though astir schools stay open.

By this constituent galore decisions are being taken independently by nan 4 nations of nan UK. Both Wales and Northern Ireland put successful spot versions of a circuit breaker lockdown, while successful Scotland stricter rules are imposed successful nan cardinal belt.

The scheme is still to let families and friends to meet up astatine Christmas.

But by mid-December a new, much infectious version of nan microorganism is spreading and millions surviving successful nan south-east of England are told astatine short announcement that Christmas mixing will beryllium cancelled.

In January 2021, a 3rd and last afloat nationalist lockdown follows crossed nan UK, arsenic nan wintertime activity peaks and nan NHS starts rolling retired millions of doses of nan first Covid vaccines.

Five years connected from those melodramatic 12 months, nan inquiry's findings are long-awaited, peculiarly by nan 235,000 families who mislaid loved ones successful nan pandemic.

The messages and documents highlighted present are conscionable a snapshot - nan study owed later will tally to astir 800 pages.

It will analyse immoderate of nan cardinal questions successful overmuch much detail: nan timing of lockdowns, nan effect of restrictions connected nan astir vulnerable, and nationalist assurance successful nan rules amid reports of partying successful Downing Street and different alleged norm breaches.

Groups representing thousands of bereaved families want individuals moving successful authorities astatine nan clip to beryllium held to relationship for immoderate pandemic failings.

But - supra each - they want nan authorities to study lessons from immoderate mistakes and beryllium amended prepared if and erstwhile nan adjacent chartless microorganism arrives connected our shores.

Some documents successful this article person been recreated. All incorporate nan original texts including pronunciation mistakes and typographical errors.

Additional reporting: Pilar Tomas and Ely Justiniani, BBC Visual Journalism Unit.

Top image credit: Getty/BBC