Covid generation was ‘failed’ by Conservative government, says minister
The pandemic generation of young people was “failed” by the last government, the employment minister has said. Alison McGovern, a minister at the Department for Work and Pensions, claimed the Conservative Party shirked its “responsibility” to help young people during the Covid-19 pandemic. The comments came after the government unveiled plans to replace the network […]
Don’t look away: ITV’s Breathtaking exposes the real Covid scandal
Politicians don’t like to talk about the pandemic much these days. This wasn’t always the case and, up until quite recently, the UK’s response was regularly celebrated as a kind of national triumph, a timely reminder of the indomitable spirit, ingenuity and fortitude of the nation. For instance, speaking in the immediate aftermath of the […]
PM faces Covid inquiry amid speculation WhatsApps may be recoverable from ‘broken phone’
Rishi Sunak will today face the Covid inquiry for an eight-hour grilling, where he is expected to be questioned over his patronage of the controversial “Eat Out to Help Out Scheme” and the reasons he was unable to disclose some key contemporaneous WhatsApps. It comes after pranksters were reported to have been able to access […]
Covid inquiry: Boris Johnson says he never wanted to ‘let it rip’ — but admits view was ‘widespread’
Former prime minister Boris Johnson has denied wanting to let Covid “rip”, as he faces his second day of grilling at the official Covid inquiry. This morning, Johnson was shown a series of extracts from former chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance’s diaries. In one passage, Vallance quotes Johnson as advocating a “let the virus […]
Boris Johnson tells Covid inquiry his job was to control ‘challenging characters’ — as it happened
Boris Johnson faced his first day of questioning at the Covid inquiry today. In his opening remarks, the former prime minister, who was at the helm throughout the pandemic, apologised “for the pain and the loss” that families experienced during the pandemic. He told the inquiry: “By your leave can I just say how glad […]
Boris Johnson accused of ‘the usual lies and bluster’ ahead of Covid inquiry appearance
Boris Johnson has been accused of “the usual lies and bluster” ahead of his appearance before the Covid inquiry as unions and campaign groups respond to the former prime minister’s alleged “briefings” to the media, which he denies. The former prime minister, who was at the helm throughout the pandemic, is facing a two-day […]
Matt Hancock: I didn’t read SAGE meeting minutes at start of Covid pandemic
Matt Hancock today admitted he did not read the minutes of SAGE at the start of the pandemic and instead relied on a summary from Sir Chris Whitty. The Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies, or SAGE, is an expert group deployed in an emergency to integrate independent scientific research and analysis from across government, academia and industry. During […]
‘No evidence, no transparency, pure dogma’: Sunak’s Treasury under the spotlight at Covid inquiry
Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s former chief scientific adviser, accused the Treasury during the pandemic of “pure dogma”, private notes written at the time reveal. Questioned at the Covid inquiry yesterday, Sir Patrick said his comments in October 2021 were probably made late at night in “frustration”. The entry said: “Economic predictions. HMT (the Treasury) […]
Rishi Sunak’s Treasury was referred to as ‘the pro-death squad’, Covid inquiry hears
Boris Johnson called the Treasury “the pro-death squad” as the government sought to build support for a loosening of Covid restrictions, the Covid inquiry heard today. Citing a diary entry by Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser, Dermot Keating, a counsel to the official Covid inquiry, said Johnson referred to the Treasury, then helmed […]
Did Dominic Cummings’ ‘bombshell’ Covid testimony obscure more than it revealed?
“We’re going to have to coarsen our language somewhat”, said Hugo Keith KC, lead counsel to the Covid inquiry, as he began his interrogation of Dominic Cummings, yesterday; it would soon become clear why such a warning was necessary — and the same advice stands for this article. “A bomb site”, “useless”, “feral” “a dumpster […]
