The Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group has issued a statement about today's inquiry report saying it shows that Matt Hancock's claim about a protective ring being thrown around care homes was a "cruel lie". This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.

"Today's report is a devastating account of one of the darkest episodes in our country's history. It shows that the government knew the care sector was extremely vulnerable to a pandemic and yet did nothing. Failing to act until it was too late. And It shows that Matt Hancock's claim to have thrown a protective ring around care homes was a cruel lie. Months before telling us that lie, Matt Hancock sat in a room with Boris Johnson and Simon Stevens and made the decision to discharge hospital patients into care homes, without testing. Three men, with no medical expertise between them, made a decision that became a death sentence for our family members.

The most at-risk people in our society, the sick, elderly – many of whom had a full and long life ahead of them – were failed by a government who abandoned them and left them to die. That is the consequence of social care system treated as a second-class service – too difficult for politicians to reform, too easy to ignore. Our family members paid the price. That is why social care reform cannot wait."

The inquiry report published today criticised Matt Hancock's claim about protecting care homes. The inquiry found that the claim did not correspond to reality.

It is noted that this report is part of the UK Covid-19 inquiry. The inquiry examines the government's pandemic preparedness and actions.

The statement by the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group emphasises that the government knew about the vulnerability of the care sector but did nothing, and that Matt Hancock's claim about protecting care homes was a "cruel lie". The group also stated that Boris Johnson, Matt Hancock and Simon Stevens made the decision to discharge hospital patients into care homes without testing, and that this decision became a death sentence for their family members.

The group also criticised the treatment of the social care system as a second-class service and noted that reform cannot wait.