When the government had one job: making emergency communications accessible
The COVID-19 Inquiry documented a failure that should embarrass everyone in government digital services: no British Sign Language interpretation at press conferences, no accessible formats for emergency guidance. The Inquiry states plainly: “Everyone should be able to understand the action their government is asking them to take.” So where was GDS? Where were the senior content designers? An insider who worked in the Cabinet Office during COVID exposes what went wrong and asks the uncomfortable question: would a future government just outsource this to AI?