Former Italian PM Giuseppe Conte faces investigation over Covid response

Conte, ex-health minister and 17 others placed under investigation on suspicion of ‘aggravated culpable epidemic’ and manslaughter

Italian prosecutors have placed the former prime minister Giuseppe Conte, the former health minister Roberto Speranza and 17 others under investigation on suspicion of “aggravated culpable epidemic” and manslaughter in connection with the government’s response at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

The investigation, launched by prosecutors in Bergamo, the Lombardy province worst hit during the first wave of the virus, follows a preliminary inquiry that began in mid-2020 and was driven by relatives of Covid-19 victims.