Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London, Luisa Porritt, and Liberal Democrat Leader, Sir Ed Davey, have called for an independent inquiry into why London has been so badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a letter addressed to candidates in the London Mayoral election, they noted London was one the first to be hit badly and is now seeing some of the highest rates of infection once again in the current wave.

The London-focused inquiry call is “not just about accountability” but also to ensure the capital is “ready for the challenges it will face in future” such as future pandemics.

Luisa Porritt, Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London said:

“London was the first UK region to be badly hit by Covid-19 back in March last year, and it is devastating that nine months later we are in an even worse situation.

“It didn’t have to be this way. Londoners deserve answers on how things have turned out so badly. How we ended up with our hospitals overwhelmed, the highest infection rate in the country, and most job losses.

“Any future Mayor of London will need to learn the lessons from this appalling set of events and make sure this never happens to our capital again. That’s why I’m calling on all Mayoral candidates to back a London-focused inquiry into the handling of the pandemic response in our capital.”