THIS Sunday, the 23 of November 2025, marks the fifth anniversary of the death of RAF Group Captain Harold Griffiths.

He died of Covid-19 at Hafan y Waun care home in Aberystwyth. He was 86.

For five years his daughter Catherine, from Machynlleth, has relentlessly fought for justice for victims of the pandemic. As a member of campaign group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru she co-led Module 6 of the inquiry regarding care homes in a bid to prove mistakes were made and thousands of lives were needlessly lost.

The report from Module 2 of the Covid-19 Public Inquiry has now been released and Catherine is disappointed.

“We always said that within the auspices of a UK-wide inquiry Wales would not get the appropriate level of scrutiny it needs and deserves and that’s exactly what’s happened,” she said.

“This was all about the UK Government and criticism of them, but health is devolved in Wales and Welsh Government made so many mistakes.

“There were many delays in Wales. Mark Drakeford said he was being cautious but he was abjectly slow in spite of scientific recommendations.

“It appears Welsh Government did things differently in Wales just because they could. Doing this led to Wales sustaining the greatest loss of life of all the UK nations. We didn’t need caution, we needed action and that would have prevented deaths.”

She added: “Over 12,000 people died from Covid in Wales and an enormous proportion of those were preventable. We knew that as bereaved families but that was very hard to hear.

“I read so much evidence about institutions like Public Health Wales, Care Inspectorate Wales, and The Older People’s Commission, and above all, Welsh Government, that were tasked with the protection of elderly people in Wales. They all failed us and some of the evidence is deeply shocking and offensive.

“Alasdair Donaldson was a high ranking civil servant in the department of health in Westminster. In his evidence he said this was “generational slaughter”. That’s a deeply shocking statement but entirely appropriate when you look at what happened in Wales and our government should be deeply ashamed of that.

“We know Welsh Government delayed in mask mandates, accepting asymptomatic transmission, and the testing of asymptomatic people, and this was catastrophic for care homes. They delayed the implementation of vaccines in care homes.

“England was slow – Wales was slower, and this proved devastating .

“After the firebreak lockdown in October 2020, which Wales implemented 18 days later than England, Welsh Government ignored scientific advice to stay locked down, and opened up with more cases than when we closed!

“Cases went up and up from August in Wales, way higher than other nations. We lost more people than any other UK nation and the majority of those deaths were older people.

“Because the inquiry is so big, the failings of these institutions, mainly Welsh Government, haven’t been analysed or evaluated.

“The inquiry chair, Lady Hallett, did say there was a failure to prepare for the second wave.

“Welsh Government ignored advice from South East Asia and advice regarding reopening. People died as a result of these decisions. It is unforgivable. Welsh Government failed the people of Wales. My father deserved better. We all deserved better.”

Catherine says the fight for Welsh scrutiny goes on.

“The core group of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru continue to call for a Wales-only inquiry. Not in the same shape or form as the UK one, but a small group of experts directly analysing the failings with a view to making substantive change to protect the people of Wales.”

The First Minister of Wales, Eluned Morgan, welcomed the publication of the second report by the UK Covid-19 Public Inquiry, adding: “I would like to thank the inquiry chair, Baroness Hallett, and her team for their work and for today’s report.

“It is important that we remember the immense loss and suffering of so many people due to Covid-19. Today, our thoughts must first and foremost be with them.

“We will take time to read the report and will work with the other UK governments over the coming months to carefully consider and act on its recommendations. We are committed to learning lessons from the pandemic and continue to be actively involved in the UK inquiry.”