Boris Johnson is facing devastating claims he suggested the best way to deal with Coronavirus at the beginning of the global pandemic would be to “ignore it”.
Downing Street has dodged answering questions about the explosive claims in a BBC investigation headed by Laura Kuennssberg which also says cabinet ministers felt the Prime Minister should have imposed a tougher lockdown last autumn to save more lives.
With pressure mounting for a public inquiry into the government’s handling of covid the Downing Street spokesman refused on Tuesday to deny the words had been said.
The official said: “I would point back to what the prime minister said and set out at the time. It has always been our focus to reduce the cases of transmission, to protect the NHS and to ultimately protect lives.
“That’s what we did when we first locked down the country last year and that’s what we have sought to do throughout the pandemic.”
Put to him that he was not denying the allegation in the BBC probe, the official said: “I’m pointing out that throughout the pandemic what we have done is do what we think was the best course of action in terms of protecting lives and in terms of protecting the NHS. That has been our focus throughout the pandemic.”
The claims are part of a BBC investigation in which their political editor spoke to Ministers and government insiders about the first year of the pandemic and found allegations of complacency, mistakes and stubbornness in Downing Street which led to “more cases and more deaths.”
One source told Kuenssberg there was a “lack of concern and energy” in Number Ten as the virus began to hit the UK.
She was told: “The general view was it is just hysteria. It was just like a flu.”
The BBC reported that despite denials from Downing Street there was a “genuine argument” in Number Ten over whether to pursue a “herd immunity” strategy of allowing the virus to burn through the population, potentially killing thousands more.
It is also claimed Johnson’s aides specifically told the PM that he should tell the public to stop shaking hands ahead of an early Downing Street press conference.
Instead, the Prime Minister boasted that he’d just visited a Covid-19 ward and had “shaken hands with everybody.”
A Downing Street official said: ““The prime minister was very clear at the time he was taking a number of precautionary steps, including frequently washing his hands.
“Once the social distancing advice changed, the prime minister’s approach changed.”
