THE Tories were “having jollies while our loved ones died,” Unison delegates in Liverpool heard today from a Covid Bereaved Families for Justice Campaign activist. 

Professor Lynn Sudbury-Riley spoke to delegates as the UK Covid-19 Inquiry began.

She told conference: “My dad died in hospital from Covid all on his own, and we knew this could have been avoided if the lockdown had been put in place earlier.

“It is obscene that while we were not allowed to see our loved ones, to attend funerals and to grieve properly, our government was having jollies while our loved ones died.

“What happened must never be allowed to happen again and that’s why the inquiry is so important.”

She said that even though the bereaved families were assured they would be at the heart of the inquiry, instead “a listening exercise” was set up that included at least one firm that had worked on past Tory election campaigns.

“We must not allow what happened during the pandemic to be brushed over.

“We hope we can get to the truth, and the best way of getting through this is if we stick together and work in solidarity.”