Nationalist and unionist division on early COVID-19 lockdown cited in Hallett report

The former judge has also concluded the response of the governments in Belfast, Edinburgh, Cardiff and London was often a case of ‘too little, too late’.

Her report finds that the ‘coordination of the NI Executive’s response was weakened by the operational independence of departments and decision-making was marred by political disputes’.

Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s announcement of the first lockdown in the 26 counties on March 12, 2020 blindsided the Executive.

The report says: “This took ministers in NI by surprise and showed Professor McBride’s [Michael, Chief Medical Officer] hope of securing an all-Ireland approach that aligned with the UK to be unrealistic. Ms O’Neill [the then Deputy First Minister Michelle] said that the Irish government: ‘took that decision and didn’t tell us. That wasn’t good enough, because that actually led and fed into that confusion and put us all in a very difficult spot’.

"On March 12, 2020, Ms Foster [Arlene, former First Minister] and Ms O’Neill met with Mr Sterling [David, ex-Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service and Permanent Secretary to The Executive Office] who advised that there was ‘no medical/scientific evidence’ to support the measures announced by the Irish government.

"A note of the meeting records that Ms O’Neill referred to ‘one island and two approaches – need to identify which approach is right and which isn’t’.”

On the same day a meeting of the Executive took place.

According to a minute Mrs. Foster explained: “The urgency of this meeting was driven by the statement this morning by the Taoiseach. DFM [deputy First Minister] referred to public confusion. While we continue to follow the science and medical advice, we are now in a difficult position given RoI approach.”

"Professor McBride advised that there was a risk in creating a peak too early and then inviting an additional peak.

"Conor Murphy MLA, Minister of Finance from January 2020 to October 2022, pointed to a need to understand why the advice in the RoI was different. Ms Foster and Ms O’Neill subsequently took different positions publicly on the issue of school closures.

"The NI Office noted that ‘cracks’ were beginning to emerge in the NI Executive, with Sinn Féin ‘wanting to follow Irish government particularly re school closures’,” the report observes.

Prior to lockdown being introduced in the North on March 23 following Boris Johnston’s UK-wide ‘Stay at home’ order, “Covid-19 was only discussed under ‘any other business’ in meetings as late as February 24-25 respectively’.

Hallett also reveals how a month earlier a coach of Chinese tourists from the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan ‘drove unimpeded around the UK and into the RoI’.

In Scotland ‘one of the party developed respiratory symptoms but tested negative for Covid-19’.

"The tour group crossed over into NI on about January 25. No steps were taken to prevent this group from entering NI and travelling on to the RoI.

"A government official in NI noted, at the time, that the ‘CMO [Chief Medical Officer] is not concerned’.

"Richard Pengelly, Permanent Secretary to the Department of Health (NI) from July 2014 to April 2022, recorded that, as the individual tested negative for Covid-19 and other passengers were asymptomatic: ‘No action required. To do so would have been contrary to national and international protocols. We would have had no powers to insist’,” Hallett states.

During the summer of 2020, the Executive took a more cautious approach than the British Government to lifting the first lockdown.

"Wales, Scotland and NI governments eased restrictions more gradually over summer 2020, increasing the chance that further lockdowns may not be necessary or as restrictive,” the report adds.

But the attendance of senior Sinn Féin ministers at the funeral of veteran republican Bobby Storey in June 2020 caused further tension.

“On multiple occasions decision-making was marred by political disputes between DUP and Sinn Féin ministers. The attendance of the deputy First Minister of NI, Michelle O’Neill MLA, at the funeral of Bobby Storey in June 2020, and her initial refusal to apologise for this, contributed to tensions in the NI Executive Committee.

"The four-day Executive Committee meeting from November 9-12, 2020 represented a low point in NI politics during the pandemic.

"The confidentiality of discussions was undermined by leaks and there was inappropriate instigation of cross-community votes to make political points by the First Minister of NI, Arlene Foster MLA (later Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee),” Hallett finds.

The response, meanwhile, to the deadly second wave of the pandemic when Derry and Strabane recorded one of the highest SARS-CoV-2 prevalence rates in Europe was not strong enough. The report notes how in October 2020 ‘the Executive Committee agreed to introduce additional restrictions for Derry City and Strabane Local Government District Area’.

"The UK government, Welsh Government and NI Executive introduced restrictions too late when faced with rising case rates in autumn 2020 and they were not in place for long enough, or were too weak to control the spread of the virus...In NI, politically divided Executive Committee meetings led to chaotic decision-making. A four-week circuit breaker was introduced on October 16, 2020, despite advice that a six-week intervention was needed,” the report concludes.

Following publication of her report Hallett reflected: “Covid-19 was a novel and deadly virus spreading rapidly around the country. All four governments failed to appreciate the scale of the threat or the urgency of response it demanded.

“When they did realise the scale of the threat, politicians and administrators in the UK government and the devolved administrations were presented with unenviable choices as to how to respond. Whatever decision they took there was often no right answer or good outcome.

"They also had to make decisions in conditions of extreme pressure. Nonetheless, I can summarise my findings of the response as ‘too little, too late’.”