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Closing statements delivered in Module 6 of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry on Social Care

Public hearings in Module 6 of the UK Covid-19 Public Inquiry completed on Thursday 31 July 2025, with closing statements delivered by core participants. The evidence spanned five weeks of public hearings. 

A number of Doughty Street barristers are instructed for Core Participants in Module 6: 

  • Kate Beattie and Alice Irving are instructed by Shamik Dutta and Caleb Simpson of Bhatt Murphy, for Disabled People’s Organisations. Watch the closing statement here.
  • Adam Straw KC is instructed by Emma Jones and Carolin Ott at Leigh Day, for John's Campaign, the Patients Association and Care Rights UK. Watch the closing statement here.
  • Peter Wilcock KC and Jacob Bindman are instructed by Conal McGarrity of P.A. Duffy & Co. Solicitors, for the Northern Ireland Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice. Watch the closing statement here.
  • Piers Marquis, Annabel Timan and Finnian Clarke are instructed by Joe Latimer of the Public Interest Law Centre for Frontline Migrant Health Workers Group. Watch the closing statement here.
  • Sam Jacobs and Ruby Peacock are instructed by Gerard Stilliard and Harry Thompson of Thompsons Solicitors for the Trades Union Congress. Watch the closing statement here.

Module 6 has considered: the impact of the pandemic on the publicly and privately funded adult social care sector in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; the consequences of government decision-making on those living and working within the care sector; the steps taken in adult care and residential homes to prevent the spread of Covid-19; and the capacity of the adult care sector to respond to the pandemic.

Barristers from Doughty Street Chambers have questioned a diverse range of witnesses during the module, including: politicians, those involved in the leadership of the social care sector, and experts instructed by the Inquiry.  Witnesses who have given oral evidence during this module include: Matt Hancock (Former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care); Sir Sajid Javid (Former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care); Vaughan Gething MS attending remotely (Former Minister for Health and Social Services); Eddie Lynch (Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland); Helen Whately MP (Former Minister of State for Care); Michelle Dyson CB (Department for Health and Social Care); Heather Reid (Public Health Agency Northern Ireland); Jeane Freeman OBE (Former Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport, Scotland); Prof. Sir Michael McBride (Chief Medical Office for Northern Ireland); Robin Swann MP (Former Minister of Health for Northern Ireland); Prof. Laura Shallcross MBE (Professor of Public Health and Translational Data Science); Dr Ruth Allen (British Association of Social Workers); Prof. Susan Hopkins CBE (UK Health Security Agency); Prof. Dame Jenny Harries (Former Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England); Susan Lyons (John’s Campaign, Care Rights UK, and the Patients Association); Julie Parkinson (National Association of Care and Support Workers); Prof Fu-Meng Khaw (Public Health Wales); Christina McAnea (Trades Union Congress); Helen Wildbore (Care Rights UK, John’s Campaign and the Patients Association); Linda Dinsdale (Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK); Joanne Sansome (on behalf of Disability Action Northern Ireland); Prof. Sube Banerjee MBE (Expert in Dementia); Prof. Chris Hatton (Expert in Learning Disabilities); and Prof. Stephen Barclay (Expert in End of Life and Palliative Care Expert). The full witness list for the module is available here.