Member-only story
Dear Boris Johnson, when is the ‘Right Time’ to Learn Lessons from Your Covid Actions and Inaction
Boris Johnson, I was struck by something you said in Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons this week. In relation to a question from the leader of the opposition, you said something I found extremely strange. I’m accustomed to you saying peculiar things in a defensive manner, in an attempt to distract from questions and avoid responsibility for your actions and inaction, but this was the most bizarre response I’ve seen from you, in the context of all that has happened.
Keir Starmer had said the following [the session can be read on Hansard]: “Yesterday, we passed the tragic milestone of 100,000 Covid deaths in the United Kingdom. That is not just a statistic: behind every death is a grieving family — a mum, a dad, a sister, a brother, a friend, a colleague, a neighbour. The question on everyone’s lips this morning is why? The Prime Minister must have thought about that question a lot, so will he tell us why he thinks that the United Kingdom has ended up with a death toll of 100,000 — the highest number in Europe?”
To which you replied: “I mourn every death in this pandemic and we share the grief of all those who have been bereaved. Let him and the House be in no doubt that I and the Government take full responsibility for all the actions…
