Sir Keir Starmer said the formal inquiry into the Government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic must report by the end of this year as he raised The Lockdown Files in the House of Commons.

Sir Keir said: "I don't want to finish this session without asking about the Covid disclosures in today's Daily Telegraph. We don't know the truth of what happened yet, there are too many messages and too many unknowns.

"Families across the country will look at this and the sight of politicians writing books portraying themselves as heroes or selectively leaking messages will be an insulting and ghoulish spectacle for them.

"At the heart of this is every family who made enormous sacrifices for the good of the country or who tragically lost loved ones. The country deserves better. The Covid inquiry has already cost the taxpayer £85 million and hasn't heard from a single government minister yet so can the Prime Minister assure the House no more delays, that the inquiry will have whatever support it needs to report by the end of this year?"

Mr Sunak said: "The last couple of years were an incredibly difficult time for everyone involved in the health service and I pay tribute to all their hard work.

#matthancock #lockdown #covid19

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