Boris Johnson today refused to bring forward the start of the Covid inquiry despite Dominic Cummings ’ explosive evidence to Parliament.
Labour ’s Keir Starmer formally requested that public hearings start this summer - not Spring 2022 as the Prime Minister has insisted.
But despite the string of revelations from his former aide, the Prime Minister angrily rejected the demand at PMQs today.
He fumed: “No! As I’ve said before I’m not going to concentrate valuable official time on that now while we’re still battling a pandemic.”
Mr Johnson also refused to deny ranting that Covid “is only killing 80-year-olds” as he refused calls for a second lockdown last Autumn.
But he admitted: “To deal with a pandemic on this scale has been appallingly difficult and we’ve at every stage tried to minimise loss of life, to save lives and protect the NHS, and we’ve followed the best scientific advice that we can.”
It comes after an extraordinary evidence session in which the ex-aide Mr Cummings said there was no plan for a pandemic or lockdown.
He told MPs one official said: “I’ve been told for years there is a whole plan for this. There is no plan. We’re in huge trouble.”
A second official walked into his No10 office on March 13 and said: “I think we are absolutely f*****. I think this country is heading for a disaster, I think we are going to kill thousands of people.”
Mr Cummings’ astonishing claims to a joint committee, which is still ongoing this afternoon, include:
- Officials didn’t want Boris Johnson at COBRA meetings because he would just joke Covid was a “scare story” like swine flu and he should be injected with it on live TV;
- “Lots of key people were literally skiing” in mid-February and gaps in planning only became clear at the end of February;
- Both he and the Cabinet Secretary told Boris Johnson that Matt Hacock should have been fired for 15 to 20 things, including “lying to everybody” in the Cabinet room;
- The Cabinet Secretary told Boris Johnson he should give a TV address encouraging people to catch Covid like “chicken pox parties” in order to achieve herd immunity;
- He first texted Boris Johnson warning the anti-lockdown plan wouldn’t work on March 11, 12 days before the eventual lockdown;
- The whole of government was like a meme of different Spidermen pointing at each other to shift the blame;
- The entire political system showed Brits were “lions led by donkeys” and “thousands” of people would do a better job than Boris Johnson;
- No10 was distracted on the crucial day of March 12 because Carrie Symonds was demanding the press team rebut a story about her pet dog.
Keir Starmer today said the evidence laid bare the government’s “complacency” at the start of the pandemic last year, its “pattern of behaviour” of poor planning and a PM “absent” from key decisions.
He asked: “Does the PM now recognise he should bring forward the timing of the public inquiry into Covid and it should start this summer and as soon as possible?”
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford branded Mr Johnson “a negligent PM more concerned with his own self-interests than the interests of the UK.”
Mr Johnson denied some of the central allegations from Mr Cummings - including that his inaction led to needless deaths.
He replied: “No, and of course all those matters will be reviewed in the course of the public inquiry that I have announced.”
He moaned Sir Keir “is fixated as ever on the rear view mirror while we are getting on with our job of rolling out the vaccines.”
Mr Johnson also denied the Cabinet Secretary said he’d lost faith in Matt Hancock’s honesty.
He replied: “The answer to that is no.”
But he pointedly failed to deny his “Covid is only killing 80-year-olds” rant last Autumn.
He claimed a circuit breaker lockdown “did not work” in Wales and said: “We saw what happened during the pandemic.
“He talks about the September lockdown and my approach to the very difficult decision the country faced.
“Of course this will be a matter for the inquiry to go into.”
Sir Keir said: “Either his former advisor is telling the truth in which case the PM should answer the allegations.
“Or the PM has too suggest his former advisor is not telling the truth, which raises serious questions about the PM’s judgement in appointing him in the first place.”
