Commissioner responds ageist comments reported in evidence to UK Covid-19 Inquiry

Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, Heléna Herklots CBE, said:

“I was appalled by the callous, ageist attitudes towards older people reported in accounts of discussions amongst senior UK Government politicians and officials shared with the UK Covid-19 Inquiry yesterday.”

“Since hearing the evidence, I have been thinking about older people and their families throughout the country who will rightly feel angry and let down by suggestions that it was not worth protecting those most at risk from Covid-19, that these lives were seen as being expendable.

“As the independent Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, I will continue to challenge ageism, working with and scrutinising public bodies, as it is vital that ageist assumptions about older people have no place in influencing policy, practice and decision-making.”