The Covid Inquiry - special episode

"Damning” and “unforgivable failures” is how some papers headlines reacted to criticism of former UK prime minister Boris Johnson in the second of 10 reports from the UK Covid Inquiry.

Under pressure, in 2001 Boris Johnson announced a covid inquiry led by a former judge, Baroness Hallett. Each report is examining a different area of the pandemic's impact, and module 2 is about decision making and political governance.

The report describes inertia, toxic cultures, and an inability to learn lessons - disfunction that contributed to many extra deaths.

To dissect the report and discuss what needs to change, we're joined by;

• Rebecca Coombes - The BMJ’s head of journalism
• Kevin Fong - anaesthetist and lead for major incident planning at University College Hospital
• Matthew Flinders - Professor of Politics and Public Policy at the University of Sheffield