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Coronavirus: How to hold government to account in a national crisis

The decisions that the government is making right now will define a generation.

Coronavirus has fundamentally changed the economy and our society, but the scale of the government response comes amid a parliamentary recess and severe social distancing measures.

As the prime minister recovers from his Covid-19 infection at Chequers, decisions are being made by ministers in the interim.

The daily briefing, with journalists appearing via video link, now provides one of the few moments that government ministers can answer questions and explain their decision making.

So how will scrutiny survive in the era of coronavirus? Is there a responsible way to make sure the decisions that are taken are correct, while enabling the government to act efficiently in the public interest?

Policy Editor Lewis Goodall reports

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5 minutes