Baroness Foster rejects ‘sleepwalking into pandemic’ claims
By Jayne McCormack
BBC News NI political correspondent
Former first minister Baroness Foster has rejected suggestions the Northern Ireland Executive “sleepwalked” into the pandemic.
The claim was put to her by counsel at the UK Covid-19 inquiry.
Clair Dobbin KC said it was “really difficult” to understand why basic response plans were not activated by the time the pandemic was declared.
Baroness Foster said the idea “we would expose constituents to this in a wilful way is just offensive, frankly”.
She said she “totally and and absolutely” rejected the claim, as the executive had been determined to work for the people of Northern Ireland.
The former first minister insisted the executive had been receiving advice from health officials, and that the Department of Health was taking the lead on the initial response to the virus.
Baroness Foster was Northern Ireland’s first minister from 2016 to 2017 and during the pandemic from January 2020 until she resigned on 14 June 2021.
She was leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 2016 to 2022.
Earlier, she told the inquiry she accepted responsibility for how the executive handled the Covid pandemic, saying Northern Ireland should have locked down sooner than it did to prevent more deaths.
But she added: “We felt we had time and we didn’t have time, and that’s a source of great regret.”
What did Arlene Foster tell the Covid Inquiry?
This is not the first time Baroness Foster has appeared before the inquiry.
In July 2023 she said the UK government should have stepped in to make decisions in the absence of ministers at Stormont from 2017 to 2020.
Health officials have said the absence of ministers impacted the preparedness for health emergencies.
On Wednesday, Baroness Foster told the inquiry she agreed with comments by Michelle O’Neill, who is now first minister but was deputy first minister from January 202
