LEADING charities and trade unions have united to urge the chairwoman of the Covid-19 inquiry to include undocumented migrants in its scope.

The terms of reference of the official inquiry into the government’s handling of the pandemic are currently being deliberated by Baroness Hallett, who was appointed to chair the probe in December. 

In an open letter to her, the leaders of 17 civil society groups, including the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) and doctors’ union the British Medical Asssociation (BMA), called today for the inquiry panel to include migration policy as a key factor in the investigation. 

They allege that government policies preventing some migrants accessing benefits, housing, secure work and healthcare have exacerbated the risks of Covid-19.

The impact of these policies must be investigated to determine whether they helped to cause the higher death rates seen among Britain’s black and Asian communities, the letter says. 

JCWI chief executive Satbir Singh said the hostile environment has left people destitute, homeless and scared to access care during the pandemic. 

“We already know the UK’s black and brown communities have disproportionately suffered and died from Covid-19, but so far the government has ignored the role its immigration policies could have played in this — they are missing a key piece of the puzzle.”
 
BMA council chairman Dr Chaand Nagpaul said that policies restricting access to healthcare have left services largely “inaccessible for those with insecure immigration status, even if doctors and their colleagues are willing and able to treat them. 

“It is vital that these issues, and government policies that have exacerbated these existing inequalities, are considered within the scope of the public inquiry.”
 
The open letter’s signatories also include the heads of the Race Equality Foundation, bakers’ union BFAWU, homelessness charity Shelter and the Muslim Council of Britain.