Tories U-turn and let Covid bereaved families go to their conference

The Covid-19 Families for Justice group, which represents around 3,000 grieving families, had been denied entry but the party now says that is an error

Covid bereaved families will be allowed to attend Conservative Party conference after all, in a swift U-turn by the party.

Covid-19 Families for Justice had applied to attend the Tories’ conference in Manchester next month some six weeks ago, and were initially rejected.

But after the snub was reported, Boris Johnson’s party quickly changed position, saying this was “an error” that had been reviewed.

The annual event is regularly attended by trades unions, campaigns groups and business groups, and is a key opportunity for the group, which represents some 3,000 families, to lobby MPs.

Lobby Akinnola, spokesperson for Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice said: “The Conservative Party has just U-turned and decided that we can in fact attend their party conference.

“Their initial decision to disallow bereaved families from attending was disgraceful, and we hope that there is a genuine acknowledgement of that and that they are prepared to work with us.

“Laughably, they’ve claimed the initial decision was ‘an error’. Funny that the error wasn’t spotted when we initially asked for an explanation for the decision, and only when the news broke in the media.

“Unfortunately it seems that we keep having to correct Government “errors”, which is exactly why they need to start engaging with bereaved families and stop trying to avoid us.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged the public inquiry into the government’s botched handling of the pandemic will get underway in spring.

But the group fears it will be delayed much further as power-holders have yet to select a chair for the inquiry or set the hearing’s terms of reference.

No Conservative minister, including Health Secretary Sajid Javid, has yet met with Families for Justice, despite cross-party appeals for them to do so.

The PM had pledged to meet the group in September, but it is not yet clear if that meeting will go ahead.

The group is pushing for a rapid review phase of the inquiry, which would allow the Government to learn from failures on PPE and late lockdowns.