Boris Johnson skipped five COBRA meetings, ignored scientific warnings and took time off as the Coronavirus crisis began to spread around the world in January and February.
A damning report in this morning’s Sunday Times accuses the Government of incompetence which may have led to the levels of deaths that are exceeding much of the rest of the world.
Johnson had found time to join in a lunar-new-year dragon eyes ritual as part of Downing Street’s reception for the Chinese community, led by the country’s ambassador when COBRA first convened in January
He missed four further meetings while his ministers and spokesmen put out messages reassuring the public that all was under control
On of the government’s key advisory committees was given a dire warning a month earlier than has previously been admitted about the prospect of having to deal with mass casualties says the report
The report also says that Several emergency planners and scientists said that the plans to protect the UK in a pandemic had once been a priority and had been well funded for the decade following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
“But then austerity cuts struck. “We were the envy of the world,” the source said, “but pandemic planning became a casualty of the austerity years, when there were more pressing needs.”
Planning also failed to alert business of the possibility of a lockdown allowing them to start contingency planning and building up cash reserves
It was only five weeks after the first COBRA meeting that Johnson finally attended and began planning.
Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth has demanded “clear answers” from the government about why Boris Johnson missed five emergency meetings about the coronavirus crisis.
He said “The public deserve clear answers as to why the Prime Minister skipped five vital Cobra meetings.
“We knew in February how serious this virus was. Yet today our NHS and care staff (are) still lacking adequate PPE, testing is not at levels needed and hospitals (were) delivered wrong ventilators.”
The Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham commented on Twitter
“You live in hope that the Government has got a grip on all of this. But I’m getting very worried now.”
Neil McInroy head of Manchester based Think Tank CLES added on twitter
“There is a very grave and serious politcal issue around government mistakes on crisis. If there is deep continuing incompetence then it needs sorting now. It could be costing lives now. This is not for some future inquiry. It is for now.”
