Not a single witness offered up by the UK’s largest group for families bereaved by Covid has been called to speak at the official inquiry, openDemocracy can reveal.

Those representing the voices of the bereaved say they are being “marginalised by the process” just days before the inquiry is set to begin. It follows a scandal sparked by openDemocracy’s revelation that Tory-linked PR firms had been hired to manage the voices of the bereaved.

The Covid-19 inquiry, which will hear its first evidence next week, has selected experts, politicians and individuals affected by the pandemic to give evidence where the country’s preparedness for a pandemic will be interrogated.

But those representing frontline workers and bereaved families say key voices are being ignored.

The inquiry rejected all 20 witnesses volunteered by Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, but has asked the group’s co-founder Matt Fowler to speak. He will now be attempting to represent thousands of members who won’t be able to give evidence to the inquiry’s first module, which focuses on the UK’s preparedness for a pandemic.

Susie Crozier’s father Howard died after being admitted from a care home in Sunderland into a hospital where, she says, he shared a ward with Covid patients.

Howard Crozier did not have Covid when he left the care home, but later tested positive after spending time in the hospital.

Susie Crozier, who was told she would not be called to speak during the evidence giving, believes her experience of how the care home itself prepared for the risk of a virus spreading only to be let down by the hospital’s lack of preparation would be relevant to the inquiry.

“The care home got it right,” she says. “They locked down. They started using the activities minibus to collect all the carers so they didn’t have to use public transport. They were putting things in place to make sure that everybody was safe.

“In terms of preparedness, the care home knew what to do, and it was once he was out of that environment that he was placed in danger and he paid the ultimate price for that.”

Former prime minister David Cameron and former chancellor George Osborne are expected to speak during the first module of the inquiry, when judges will examine whether austerity policies affected the country’s ability to prepare for a pandemic.

Covid Bereaved Families for Justice says all the witnesses it put forward had experiences relevant to the scope of the first module – preparedness.

Elkan Abrahamson, head of major inquiries and inquests at the law firm Brodie Jackson Canter, is a lawyer representing bereaved families with the group. He told openDemocracy he believes core participants are being cut out.

“Although Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice have core participant status, they're being marginalised by the process,” he said.

Abrahamson said the inquiry had also refused to include “pen portraits”, which would have allowed those who have lost loved ones to submit written statements, and that the abbreviated nature of the hearings means not enough voices are being heard.

Lobby Akinnola was also rejected from speaking in the first module of the inquiry, which deals with the preparedness of the country for a large pandemic.

Akinnola’s father, Femi, was 60 when he died from Covid-19. He was a carer for charity Mencap at the time and began isolating to protect his family after he started to show symptoms. On the advice of his doctor and 111, he remained at home, where he later died.

“My dad’s story highlights lots of things that went wrong with the response to the Covid pandemic,” he told openDemocracy. “It feels like the inquiry is missing an opportunity here.”

Jo Goodman’s father, Stuart Goodman, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer just as the pandemic was starting to take hold. He was given chemotherapy, which affected his immune system, and later caught Covid. He was sent a letter telling him to shield nine days after he died.

Goodman was also denied a chance to speak in the inquiry.

“I feel like I want to know, were we poorly prepared?” she said. “Or did we decide that we didn’t want to do the things that we knew needed to happen to keep people safe? I don’t feel like I’m ever going to get any sort of closure without knowing that.”

Other core groups also feel not enough voices are being included. Stuart Tuckwood, a nurse and national officer for UNISON, said thousands of NHS workers could not speak for fear of professional repercussions.

“There are tens of thousands of NHS and social care staff who have hugely valuable things to share but unfortunately don't have the same freedom to speak,” said Tuckwood at a press conference on Monday. “I think it’s really important that the inquiry does find a way to enable those genuine voices, people who’ve worked through the entire pandemic, to share what they learned and what their experiences were like.”

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak told a press conference on Monday: “Our unions will be representing millions of workers who are on the frontline during the pandemic. One of the real challenges for us is to make sure that their experiences are properly reflected in the inquiry.”

openDemocracy has approached the Covid-19 inquiry for comment.