Matt Wrack, the leader of the Fire Brigades Union, has slammed the government’s pandemic response as “chaotic, callous and negligent”.

His comments come as Rishi Sunak appears in front of the Covid Inquiry today (Monday).

Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union general secretary, said: 
“It is welcome that Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak are being forced to answer difficult questions in public.

“The government’s response to the pandemic was chaotic, callous and negligent. They wasted billions on unusable PPE, handed out lucrative contracts to their mates, and repeatedly failed to take effective measures.

“Government chaos fuelled Britain’s appallingly high death rate. The fire service – like the NHS – was hampered by the decade of brutal cuts imposed on our service by Boris Johnson and his allies.

“It was left to the Fire Brigades Union and fire service employers to enter into a national agreement to respond to the pandemic. Firefighters went above and beyond. They delivered PPE and medicine, drove ambulances and helped move the bodies of the deceased.

“Now, we demand that those responsible are held accountable – and that our service gets the resources it needs.”