Live updates as Mark Drakeford and Vaughan Gething appear before the Covid inquiry
The hearings will be held at Dorland House in London between Monday, May 19, and Thursday, May 22. As well as expert witnesses and treasury officials the inquiry will also hear from decision makers at the time of the Covid-19 pandemic including those from the Senedd, the Northern Ireland Assembly, and Westminster.
On Tuesday former Wales First Minister Mr Drakeford and as well as Mr Gething, also a former First Minister but who was health minister at the time of the pandemic, will answer questions. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here.
Both Mr Drakeford and Mr Gething previously gave evidence at a Covid-19 inquiry in Wales last year, which revealed that Welsh Government officials and ministers used WhatsApp, against Senedd rules, to discuss what was going on, and later deleted messages – going against proper record-keeping.
Mr Drakeford told the inquiry during that hearing: 'I don't claim we got everything right.' You can read more about the Wales Covid inquiry here.
This week's hearing represents the seventh out of 10 'modules' of investigation and is focusing on approach to testing, tracing and isolation during the pandemic.
Previous modules have focused on preparedness and resilience, the pandemic's impact on healthcare systems, vaccines, therapeutics and anti-viral treatment across the UK, procurement, and the impact of the pandemic on the publicly- and privately-funded adult social care sector.
You can follow live updates from Tuesday's hearing below and remember to join our WhatsApp news community here for the latest breaking news:
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Powys County Times
3 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Parents who advised daughter against chemotherapy warned over inquest behaviour
The parents of a Cambridge graduate who refused chemotherapy after being diagnosed with cancer have both been warned about their behaviour in court during an inquest into her death. Paloma Shemirani, 23, collapsed on July 19 last year and was taken to Royal Sussex County Hospital where she died five days later. She had earlier declined treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Her mother, Kay 'Kate' Shemirani, a prominent online conspiracy theorist and her father, Dr Faramarz Shemirani, who is 'sympathetic' to his ex-wife's views, believe medical professionals are to blame for their daughter's death. Coroner Catherine Wood, presiding over the inquest at Kent and Medway Coroner's Court in Maidstone, left the court due to the behaviour of Miss Shemirani's parents on Tuesday afternoon. The inquest, which was originally scheduled to conclude on Wednesday, had been extended as the evidence and questioning of witnesses had taken longer than anticipated. On Tuesday, Mrs Shemirani, who was struck off as a nurse in 2021 after spreading harmful misinformation about Covid-19, was cross-examined by Dr Shemirani. Questioning broke down when Dr Shemirani, who is understood to have a PhD in computational fluid dynamics, tried to ask his ex-wife's opinion of medical evidence which she would then try to answer, despite warnings from the coroner. 'Mrs Shemirani, I've told you not to speak, I'll find you in contempt if you keep on speaking now,' the coroner said. 'Confine (yourself) to asking questions of this witness as a witness of fact,' she told Dr Shemirani. As Dr Shemirani argued back through his video-link, the coroner said: 'Dr Shemirani, challenge me by judicial review later' before trying to move on. 'Of course I will, of course I will,' he replied. Later, Dr Shemirani once again tried to ask questions which had already been ruled irrelevant by the coroner. 'I'm going to rise for a few minutes because I'm finding it incredibly difficult to keep you on track,' said Ms Wood. Dr Shemirani continued to speak until the coroner shouted 'Dr Shemirani, listen'. 'Your behaviour has been bordering on contemptuous to the court – when I make a ruling on something you cannot come back,' she added. Mrs Shemirani also accused osteopath Nick Gosset of lying under oath earlier in the inquest. Mr Gosset treated Miss Shemirani the day she collapsed and said she had appeared to be in the 'last stages of a very difficult disease'. He told the court that when he inspected her, he could feel lumps in her right shoulder going all the way up into her neck, which he identified as lymphoid mass and that he 'had never seen anything like it' in 43 years of practice. Mr Gosset told the court: 'It was obvious to me that I was not the right person to be helping her, normally you see a patient like that, you would refer her (to a GP). 'Any referral was refused – when I suggested that the proper avenue of approach was through a normal, medical channel she dismissed it. On Tuesday, Paloma's mother said 'his statement under oath is completely opposed with the truth' and has argued her daughter was healthy the day she collapsed.
Glasgow Times
3 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Parents who advised daughter against chemotherapy warned over inquest behaviour
Paloma Shemirani, 23, collapsed on July 19 last year and was taken to Royal Sussex County Hospital where she died five days later. She had earlier declined treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Her mother, Kay 'Kate' Shemirani, a prominent online conspiracy theorist and her father, Dr Faramarz Shemirani, who is 'sympathetic' to his ex-wife's views, believe medical professionals are to blame for their daughter's death. Coroner Catherine Wood, presiding over the inquest at Kent and Medway Coroner's Court in Maidstone, left the court due to the behaviour of Miss Shemirani's parents on Tuesday afternoon. Paloma Shemirani with her A-level results at Roedean School in 2019 (Gareth Fuller/PA) The inquest, which was originally scheduled to conclude on Wednesday, had been extended as the evidence and questioning of witnesses had taken longer than anticipated. On Tuesday, Mrs Shemirani, who was struck off as a nurse in 2021 after spreading harmful misinformation about Covid-19, was cross-examined by Dr Shemirani. Questioning broke down when Dr Shemirani, who is understood to have a PhD in computational fluid dynamics, tried to ask his ex-wife's opinion of medical evidence which she would then try to answer, despite warnings from the coroner. 'Mrs Shemirani, I've told you not to speak, I'll find you in contempt if you keep on speaking now,' the coroner said. 'Confine (yourself) to asking questions of this witness as a witness of fact,' she told Dr Shemirani. As Dr Shemirani argued back through his video-link, the coroner said: 'Dr Shemirani, challenge me by judicial review later' before trying to move on. 'Of course I will, of course I will,' he replied. Later, Dr Shemirani once again tried to ask questions which had already been ruled irrelevant by the coroner. 'I'm going to rise for a few minutes because I'm finding it incredibly difficult to keep you on track,' said Ms Wood. Dr Shemirani continued to speak until the coroner shouted 'Dr Shemirani, listen'. 'Your behaviour has been bordering on contemptuous to the court – when I make a ruling on something you cannot come back,' she added. Mrs Shemirani also accused osteopath Nick Gosset of lying under oath earlier in the inquest. Mr Gosset treated Miss Shemirani the day she collapsed and said she had appeared to be in the 'last stages of a very difficult disease'. He told the court that when he inspected her, he could feel lumps in her right shoulder going all the way up into her neck, which he identified as lymphoid mass and that he 'had never seen anything like it' in 43 years of practice. Mr Gosset told the court: 'It was obvious to me that I was not the right person to be helping her, normally you see a patient like that, you would refer her (to a GP). 'Any referral was refused – when I suggested that the proper avenue of approach was through a normal, medical channel she dismissed it. On Tuesday, Paloma's mother said 'his statement under oath is completely opposed with the truth' and has argued her daughter was healthy the day she collapsed. The inquest continues on Wednesday.
North Wales Chronicle
4 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Parents who advised daughter against chemotherapy warned over inquest behaviour
Paloma Shemirani, 23, collapsed on July 19 last year and was taken to Royal Sussex County Hospital where she died five days later. She had earlier declined treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Her mother, Kay 'Kate' Shemirani, a prominent online conspiracy theorist and her father, Dr Faramarz Shemirani, who is 'sympathetic' to his ex-wife's views, believe medical professionals are to blame for their daughter's death. Coroner Catherine Wood, presiding over the inquest at Kent and Medway Coroner's Court in Maidstone, left the court due to the behaviour of Miss Shemirani's parents on Tuesday afternoon. The inquest, which was originally scheduled to conclude on Wednesday, had been extended as the evidence and questioning of witnesses had taken longer than anticipated. On Tuesday, Mrs Shemirani, who was struck off as a nurse in 2021 after spreading harmful misinformation about Covid-19, was cross-examined by Dr Shemirani. Questioning broke down when Dr Shemirani, who is understood to have a PhD in computational fluid dynamics, tried to ask his ex-wife's opinion of medical evidence which she would then try to answer, despite warnings from the coroner. 'Mrs Shemirani, I've told you not to speak, I'll find you in contempt if you keep on speaking now,' the coroner said. 'Confine (yourself) to asking questions of this witness as a witness of fact,' she told Dr Shemirani. As Dr Shemirani argued back through his video-link, the coroner said: 'Dr Shemirani, challenge me by judicial review later' before trying to move on. 'Of course I will, of course I will,' he replied. Later, Dr Shemirani once again tried to ask questions which had already been ruled irrelevant by the coroner. 'I'm going to rise for a few minutes because I'm finding it incredibly difficult to keep you on track,' said Ms Wood. Dr Shemirani continued to speak until the coroner shouted 'Dr Shemirani, listen'. 'Your behaviour has been bordering on contemptuous to the court – when I make a ruling on something you cannot come back,' she added. Mrs Shemirani also accused osteopath Nick Gosset of lying under oath earlier in the inquest. Mr Gosset treated Miss Shemirani the day she collapsed and said she had appeared to be in the 'last stages of a very difficult disease'. He told the court that when he inspected her, he could feel lumps in her right shoulder going all the way up into her neck, which he identified as lymphoid mass and that he 'had never seen anything like it' in 43 years of practice. Mr Gosset told the court: 'It was obvious to me that I was not the right person to be helping her, normally you see a patient like that, you would refer her (to a GP). 'Any referral was refused – when I suggested that the proper avenue of approach was through a normal, medical channel she dismissed it. On Tuesday, Paloma's mother said 'his statement under oath is completely opposed with the truth' and has argued her daughter was healthy the day she collapsed. The inquest continues on Wednesday.
