Election clash Inquiry to cast shadow over vote

Harrowing evidence of how thousands of elderly and disabled people may have been denied life-saving care by the NHS at the height of the Covid pandemic is expected to be revealed during the general election campaign.

Public hearings for the Covid inquiry’s investigation into healthcare provision during the pandemic will take place from September to November, which is likely to coincide with the six-week campaign if, as expected, Rishi Sunak goes for an autumn polling day.

It is understood that the timing of Baroness Hallett’s hearings is fixed and will not be moved regardless of the election date . The inquiry is independent of the Government and is not subject to pre-election “purdah”, which restricts Government activity.

The hearings will also put Labour’s credibility on the NHS on the spot, as evidence will be presented of how the party’s administration in Wales presided over a health catastrophe, with reports of overcrowded morgues and bodies of loved ones going missing as the system struggled to cope. Inquiry insiders said the hearings will force the country to have a “difficult conversation with itself about the NHS” and whether the health service, which was applauded weekly by Britons on their doorsteps during lockdown, could be held in the same esteem as before the virus hit in 2020. Module 3 of the inquiry will run from 9 September to 10 October, then break for two weeks before resuming on 28 October for a month.

This week Chancellor Jeremy Hunt suggested there would be an election in October, while it is thought 14 November is also being considered by Mr Sunak.

Several serving and former Tory ministers are expected to give evidence at the hearings, including the ex-health secretary Matt Hancock, junior health ministers and public health and NHS leaders. The former prime minister Boris Johnson could be recalled to appear at the hearings, while Mr Sunak, who was chancellor at the time, may be asked to give evidence on the funding of the NHS.