British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday rejected sharp criticism of the government's corona crisis management from his former advisor Dominic Cummings. He does not accept Cummings' allegation that government inaction has resulted in unnecessary deaths, Johnson said in response to comments from opposition leader and Labor leader Keir Starmer. “I don't think anyone could credibly accuse this government of having at any point been complacent about the threat posed by the virus. We have worked flat out to minimize the loss of human life. "
Cummings had previously said Johnson completely underestimated the coronavirus at the start of the pandemic. The head of government wanted to be infected with corona to show that the virus was not dangerous, Cummings told MPs in London. Johnson later actually contracted the virus and had to be treated in an intensive care unit for days.
Cummings testified, “In February 2020, Boris Johnson thought it was just a scary story. He thought it was the new swine flu. ”He went on to claim that Johnson said,“ I'm going to get (the chief medical advisor) Chris Whitty to inject me with the coronavirus live on TV so everyone can see it's nothing before he must be afraid. ”The government's real plan was to achieve herd immunity. In mid-March, then-top-level official Mark Sedwill said that Johnson should call on the population to coronavirus parties, similar to how parents organize chickenpox parties for their children. That was official advice from the Department of Health, Cummings claimed. Department head Matt Hancock should have been fired repeatedly, he had "lied" in many cases,about the procurement of protective equipment. Cummings and other high-ranking people would have said that to Johnson repeatedly. Hancock is still in office.
Cummings: "We Failed"
The 49-year-old Cummings has long been considered Johnson's most influential advisor.
He left the government in a dispute in November.
Government members accuse him of waging a campaign of revenge against the prime minister and his government.
Ministers, officials and advisors were "catastrophically falling short of the standards the public can expect in a crisis," said Cummings.
"When the public needed us most, we failed." The government failed to see the signs of the spreading pandemic, Cummings said.
It was only at the end of February 2020 that it was seen that the prepared contingency plans were "hollow".
The government called for home office work too late and left pubs and sports facilities open too long.
Cummings apologized to the relatives of the corona dead. The former adviser spoke to members of two House Committees of the UK Parliament. He left the government in a dispute in November 2020. Government members accuse him of a campaign of revenge.