At least nine reports are expected, covering everything from political decision-making to vaccines.

Publishing the first of these, inquiry chair Baroness Hallett said the UK was “ill-prepared for dealing with a catastrophic emergency, let alone the coronavirus pandemic”.

“Never again can a disease be allowed to lead to so many deaths and so much suffering,” she added.

The 217-page report argues the UK planned for the wrong pandemic – a mild one where spread of a new virus was inevitable – and this led to the “untested” policy of lockdown.

It says the UK government and devolved nations “failed their citizens”, and that government ministers did not sufficiently challenge scientific experts.

It made a series of recommendations for reforming the way the government approaches emergency planning across the four nations of the UK.

Baroness Hallett said she wants to see these acted on quickly, with changes in place within six months or a year.