Covidshambles: The human cost of chaos in No 10

It’s been an explosive week of evidence at the Covid inquiry.
Government by WhatsApp and chaotic scenes at Downing Street.


Amol and Nick discuss how badly the UK handled Covid and whether
a different approach would have fundamentally altered the
response and outcomes of the pandemic.


Joining them in The Today Podcast studio is Louise Casey, who
spent nearly 20 years in the civil service and who has run a
range of inquiries, . She tells Amol and Nick what she made of
her time working with the former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.


And Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, emeritus professor of
statistics at Cambridge University, takes us through the data.
Just how badly did Britain really do?


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If you would like a question answering, get in touch by sending
us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 4346 or
email us Today@bbc.co.uk


The Today Podcast is hosted by Amol Rajan and Nick Robinson, both
presenters of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the UK’s most
influential radio news programme. Amol was the BBC’s media editor
for six years and is the former editor of the Independent, he’s
also the current presenter of University Challenge. Nick has
presented the Today programme since 2015, he was the BBC’s
political editor for ten years before that and also previously
worked as ITV’s political editor.


The producers are Tom Smithard and Stephanie Mitcalf. The editors
are Jonathan Aspinwall and Louisa Lewis. The executive producer
is Owenna Griffiths. Studio direction from Mike Regaard.


Note: This audio has been edited to include a fuller answer.