[5] The group also threatened litigation to force ministers into an inquiry, including a pre-action letter of judicial review by the High Court of Justice,[10] as they argue that the government "serially failed to take reasonable steps to minimise the effects of the pandemic, leading to massive, unnecessary loss of life".
[13] Lawyers representing the group have acted in major public inquiries including into the Hillsborough, Grenfell Tower and Manchester Arena disasters.
[14] The proposed inquiry would include an analysis of: the test, track and trace system, communication of infection control measures and implementation of lockdown measures, attempts to redress the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on ethnic minorities (specifically Black and South Asian people), as well as a review of the functioning of the National Health Service and its staff during the pandemic − including supplies of personal protective equipment, the transfer of patients from hospitals to care homes, risk assessments (including failures to respond to warnings in 2017's Exercise Cygnus, which reported that the UK was not prepared for a pandemic), isolation and staff testing – and the functioning of 111 services.
[6] The group's representatives have met with Labour leader Keir Starmer, and provided evidence to Amnesty International on COVID-19 care home deaths.
[26][23][27][28] Following reports of Johnson allegedly saying "let the bodies pile high" in response to a planned third lockdown, the group accused him of "flippancy" and "callous comments [which] will have caused untold hurt to hundreds of thousands".