The chair of the UK’s official Covid inquiry has vowed to recognise the losses suffered by bereaved families – despite their own concerns about being marginalised by the process.

Inquiry chair Heather Hallett dedicated much of her opening remarks as public evidence-giving got underway to the representation of those whose lives were lost or altered as a result of the pandemic.

“[T]hose who suffered hardship and loss have and will always be at the very heart of the inquiry,” she said.

Public hearings for the first module of the Covid inquiry, focusing on whether the UK was adequately prepared for a pandemic, are expected to run until the end of July. Selected experts, politicians and individuals affected by Covid will give evidence.

Last week, openDemocracy revealed that the inquiry had rejected all 20 witness volunteered by the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice to appear in the first module. It is understood no witnesses from the group have been accepted for the second module, focusing on political decision-making, either.

But the families group’s co-founder, Matt Fowler, has been asked to speak, and legal representatives of other bereaved groups will also be present. They will have to represent the experiences of thousands.

“I know there are those who feel that the inquiry has not sufficiently recognised their loss but I hope that they will better understand as the inquiry progresses the very difficult balance I have had to strike,” Hallett said. “When they see the results of the work we are doing, I am listening to them. Their loss will be recognised.”

Other core groups have told openDemocracy that they feel their voices are being marginalised or not adequately represented by the inquiry, including NHS workers who are afraid of professional repercussions.

Hallett said those affected by the pandemic would be able to participate in community events and share experiences via phone and online. Some, she said, will give evidence at the public hearings, including representatives of bereaved families groups from each of the UK’s nations. She also pointed to the launch of Every Story Matters, an online form through which members of the public can share their experiences of the pandemic with the inquiry. The scheme has already been controversial after openDemocracy revealed the involvement of two Tory-linked PR firms in its design – one, 23Red, is no longer working with the inquiry.

Pete Weatherby KC, representing the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice (CBFFJ), used his opening remarks to outline the questions that the bereaved families want answered by module one of the inquiry. These include interrogating to what extent structural discrimination – including racism and discrimination against those with disabilities – and unaddressed health inequalities contributed to the losses caused by the pandemic.

A disproportionate number of the CBFFJ families are from Black and Brown communities, said Weatherby: “They want to know if structural racism, or the disproportionate effects of a pandemic on ethnic minority communities, was considered as a part of preparedness and planning – nevermind the response to the pandemic – and, if not, why not.”

He criticised what he said was the lack of a centralised, co-ordinated and coherent pandemic plan across governments and government departments, and questioned what impact this may have had on pandemic preparedness. He also asked whether pandemic planning centred enough on “the human impact” and prevention and mitigation of the “worst case scenario” rather than “fatalistically” concentrating on dealing with the aftermath.

“The inquiry will have to consider whether the labyrinthine risk and impact assessment processes were a sensible tapestry and finely tuned operation or whether in reality, it was a hotchpotch arrangement, more colander than coherent framework,” he said.

A 20-minute film was shown early on day one of the inquiry, following Hallett’s opening remarks. It featured 10 people from across the UK who had lost loved ones to Covid or had their own health affected by the virus.

Those in the film described how pandemic restrictions compounded their grief and suffering, including those whose family members had been alone in hospital, died alone and did not have proper funerals. They described the ongoing guilt and pain they continue to feel over how their loved ones were treated.

“I used to be a nurse so I know what a good death is and I wasn’t able to give that to my dad and that was hard,” explained Catherine, from north Wales, in the film.

Before the first evidence-giving session began, a vigil outside the hearing centre organised by CBFFJ saw family members dressed in red holding photos of loved ones lost during the pandemic.

Hallett said the grief of those family members “was obvious to all” attending the inquiry session. The inquiry intends to answer three questions “on their behalf and on behalf of millions of others who continue to suffer”, she added: was the UK prepared, was the response to the pandemic appropriate, and can we learn lessons for the future?

The inquiry continues.