COVID inquiry: Bereaved relatives experiencing ‘anxiety’ and ‘unease’ over hiring of PR firms, preliminary hearing is told
Families who lost loved ones to COVID are experiencing “continuing anxiety” and “considerable unease” over two PR firms hired by the official public inquiry, a preliminary hearing has been told.
A report by the Open Democracy website said M&C Saatchi and 23Red had both worked for the government during the pandemic – with the latter said to have worked for the Cabinet Office – but were now working on a “listening project” for the UK COVID-19 Inquiry.
Pete Weatherby KC, representing the COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, said it had raised fears about conflicts of interest.
Becky Kummer, a spokesperson for the group who lost her father in the pandemic, said the two firms “shouldn’t be anywhere near the COVID inquiry, never mind being responsible for how it reaches those worst affected by the pandemic”.
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A spokeswoman for the inquiry confirmed to Sky News that M&C Saatchi had been awarded the contract and that 23Red had been sub-contracted by the company “to provide the inquiry with expertise on working with external organisations to support public engagement and encourage people to share their experiences”.
But she insisted the contract was awarded “in line with Crown Commercial Service’s robust procurement regulations, ensuring transparency and value for money for the taxpayer”.
She added: “We were satisfied there are no conflicts of interest for the appointed suppliers which would affect the delivery of the listening exercise.”
Sky News understands M&C Saatchi did not work on the government’s public health response to the pandemic, but on other campaigns over that period, including on obesity, smoking and cancer.
However, the Cabinet Office confirmed that 23Red did work with them on marketing projects during COVID.
We also understand all bidders for the contract were required to declare any potential conflicts of interest and required to show they had suitable safeguards to mitigate any risk of conflict of interest.
‘Acute concerns’
Speaking at this morning’s preliminary hearing for the inquiry, Mr Weatherby spoke about the inquiry’s “listening project” to gather the experiences of people impacted by the pandemic in a less formal setting.
He said it would be “be extremely difficult for bereaved families and [so it is] extremely important if it works and what is needed is clarity and certainty”.
But the lawyer said there was “continuing anxiety regarding the companies involved… and it is well known these are matters of acute concerns to the families”.
Mr Weatherby said he was not commenting on whether the reports in Open Democracy were correct or whether there was an actual conflict of interest.
But he said there was “considerable unease about this”, adding: “The consequences of not taking a robust and transparent approach to these issues are really quite simple – less families will be prepared to engage and the whole exercise will have less utility and less credibility.”
Mr Weatherby said he and the families wanted “a clear indication from the inquiry as to it using companies which have undertaken what might reasonably be perceived to be a conflict of interest”, and for contracted firms “to make a public statement concerning any work they have done that could be perceived to be in conflict”.
‘Modest delay’
During this morning’s hearing, the lead KC on the inquiry, Hugo Keith, also asked for a “modest delay” to the start of the public hearings because of the amount of documents that needed to be gone through.
He said “literally thousands of manual redactions” were having to be made to government policy documents and emails relating to the UK’s preparedness for a pandemic as junior officials names need to be taken off – then be checked again by the relevant departments.
He called for a provisional start date of May to early June.
Mr Wetherby, along with other representatives of bereaved families around the UK and the Trades Union Congress, agreed to the new timetable, with the KC saying there was “no alternative” with disclosure “very much in the foothills”.
But he called for the process to be changed so the parties involved could immediate access to the evidence, rather than waiting for the disclosure.
UK drivers are “confused” by the country’s electric car transition, ministers are being warned.
Although most drivers are not hostile towards electric vehicles (EVs), many are confused about what changes are coming and when, according to new research from the AA.
In a survey of more than 14,000 AA members, 7% thought the government was banning the sale of used petrol and diesel cars.
Around a third thought manual EVs exist, despite them all being automatic.
More than one in five said they would never buy an EV.
The government’s plan for increasing the number of electric vehicles being driven in the UK focuses heavily on increasing the supply of the vehicles.
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What you can do to reach net zero
In 2024, at least 22% of new cars and 10% of new vans sold by each manufacturer in the UK had to be zero-emission, which generally means pure electric.
Each year, those percentages will rise, reaching 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans in 2030.
Manufacturers will face fines of £15,000 per vehicle if electric vehicle sales fall short of 28% of total production this year.
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By 2035, all new cars and vans will be required to be fully zero emission, according to the Department for Transport.
Second-hand diesel and petrol cars will still be allowed to be sold after this date, and their fuel will still be available.
There are more EVs – but will people buy them?
In February, 25% of new cars were powered purely by battery and in January, they made up 21% of all new cars registered in the UK.
But despite the growth of electric sales, manufacturers continue to warn that the market will not support the growth required to hit government EV targets, and called for consumer incentives and the extension of tax breaks.
The AA suggested the government’s plan focuses on “supply but does little to encourage demand for EVs”.
It called on ministers to co-ordinate a public awareness campaign alongside the motoring industry which directly targets drivers who doubt the viability of EVs.
“Our message to government is more needs to be done to make EVs accessible for everyone,” said Jakob Pfaudler, AA chief executive.
Which? head of consumer rights Sue Davis said: “When it comes to making sustainable choices such as switching to an electric car, our research shows that people are often held back by high costs, complex choices or uncertainty.
“The government needs to provide the right information on electric vehicles and other sustainable choices so that people have the confidence to switch.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We’re investing over £2.3bn to help industry and consumers make a supported switch to EVs.
“This includes installing a public charge point every 28 minutes, keeping EV incentives in the company car tax regime to 2030, and extending 100% first-year allowances for zero-emission cars for another year.
“Second-hand EVs are also becoming cheaper than ever, with one in three available under £20,000 and 21 brand new models available for less than £30,000.
“We’re seeing growing consumer confidence as a result.”
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