PRESS RELEASE – Member of ‘SCOTTISH COVID BEREAVED’ Jane Morrison to be final witness for Module 1 of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry on Tuesday 18th July 2023
Statement by lead solicitor Aamer Anwar on behalf of the Scottish Covid Bereaved:
“Over the last six weeks of evidence the Inquiry has heard that the UK was not prepared: that its capacity to cope with Covid was diminished by years of underfunding, austerity cuts, and the impact of Brexit. According to the National Records of Scotland, as of 4th June 2023, there were 17,646 deaths in Scotland where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
Each of those deaths not only represents an individual tragedy, but has affected the loved ones, of each of those who died. The hardship and suffering imposed by the pandemic was not equally spread, for the families we represent in Scotland it was a horrific and traumatic experience. Families on a daily basis confronted the risk of infection or worse, in hospitals, care homes, prisons and on the frontline of the public sector, for many thousands it meant the loss of life..
The bereaved were told they would be front and centre of this inquiry, therefore it is only fitting after hearing the evidence of politicians and civil servants, that Jane Morrison who lost her wife to Covid, will bring this first session of evidence to a conclusion.
Jane’s wife Jacqueline Morrison Hart, died in Hospital on 24th October 2020 from nosocomial covid,. Jackie was 49 and had been together with Jane for twenty years.
As Jane said:-
‘There were many times during the pandemic when it appeared as if there was a culture of contempt for the ordinary people, as illustrated for example by the so called Partygate events. As a group we represent relatives of those bereaved in Scotland. We have the common goal of wanting answers as to what went wrong both in Scotland and in the UK so we can understand how the systems failed to protect our loved ones. We want their deaths not to have been in vain and for lessons to be learnt to stop other people having to go through what we have had to endure’
Jane’s evidence at around 11.30am, for around 30 minutes will be followed by legal submissions, at around 2.45pm onwards by our senior Counsel Dr.Claire Mitchell KC-
