Boris Johnson Faces Two-Day Grilling At Covid Inquiry

December 6, 2023

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson will have a chance to defend his handling of the pandemic in two days of questioning at the Covid inquiry.

Mr Johnson is expected to apologise to the inquiry and admit his government made mistakes during the pandemic. But sources close to Mr Johnson have told the BBC he will argue he got big calls right that saved lives.

The inquiry has seen heavy criticism of Mr Johnson by former colleagues who worked with him when Covid-19 struck.

His ex-director of communications, Lee Cain, said the pandemic was the “wrong crisis” for Mr Johnson’s “skill set”, describing dither and delay on key decisions.

The former chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, said Mr Johnson was “bamboozled” by scientific data.

And his ex-chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, repeated his past criticisms of his one-time boss, telling the inquiry that everyone called Mr Johnson “the trolley” because of his tendency to veer from one point of view to another. But other figures at the centre of the UK’s response have defended the former prime minister and his style of government.

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove disputed claims Mr Johnson was “incapable of making decisions” about lockdowns. He said Mr Johnson preferred “gladiatorial decision-making” and wanted to see opposing arguments “rehearsed in front of him”.

Former health secretary Matt Hancock said Mr Cummings had been attempting to grab power from Mr Johnson and created a “toxic” culture at the heart of government which undermined its pandemic response.

Mr Johnson himself will now have the opportunity to put his version of events on the record at the Covid inquiry.A spokesman for Mr Johnson said he was looking forward to assisting the inquiry with its important work.

Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK said it hoped to see the ex-prime minister challenged “on clear falsehoods”.

Lorelei King, who lost her husband Vince to Covid-19, told the i newspaper she wanted to know “why didn’t Mr Johnson move more quickly” to introduce the first lockdown in March 2020.

While Helen Brewer, who lost her mother Dilys, said she wanted to know whether he said “let the bodies pile high”. The ex-prime minister has previously denied reports he made the comments when reportedly talking about not wanting a third lockdown.

Written by: Kevin Nwabueze

Boris Johnson Faces Two-Day