The Pain In Spain

The Government’s emergency Spanish quarantine: decisive action, poor planning or a failure to understand what working life is really like? With the inevitable Public Inquiry into Coronavirus now confirmed, special guest Sir Lawrence Freedman – emeritus professor of War Studies at Kings College London and a former member of the Iraq War inquiry – tells us how to run an effective inquiry. And is No.10’s proposed US-style spokesperson designed to help Boris Johnson dodge real scrutiny?

• “The Government is desperate to be seen to react quickly to combat the perception that in the early days of COVID they were slow off the mark.” – Alex Thomas
• “Any inquiry shouldn’t just ask why we reacted slowly but why we had outbreaks across the country, not just in one epicentre.” – Lawrence Freedman
• “We won’t get conclusions from a COVID inquiry in time for a second wave. The learning has to happen right now.” – Emma Norris

Presented by Bronwen Maddox with the IfG’s Alex Thomas, Jill Rutter and Emma Norris. Audio production by Alex Rees

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