The government missed a series of opportunities in response to tackling the coronavirus pandemic and Boris Johnson has been criticised over his actions.
Dire warnings were not listened too by scientists and the UK “lost a crucial five weeks” in tackling the deadly coronavirus, according to an investigation by The Sunday Times.
Government whistleblowers alleged that in January and February there was complacency as, “a crucial five weeks in the fight to tackle the dangerous threat of coronavirus despite being in a perilously poor state of preparation for a pandemic.”
The newspaper claims that Johnson did not attend five emergency COBRA meetings in the same period and did not attend until early March.
A Number 10 spokesman defended the Prime Minister and said, “The Prime Minister has been at the helm of the response to this, providing leadership during this hugely challenging period for the whole nation.”
However, The Sunday Times quoted a senior source from Downing Street slammed Johnsons response.
The Senior source said, “There’s no way you’re at war if your PM isn’t there.
“And what you learn about Boris was he didn’t chair any meetings. He liked his country breaks. He didn’t work weekends.
“It was like working for an old-fashioned chief executive in a local authority 20-years ago.
“There was a real sense that he didn’t do urgent crisis planning. It was exactly like people feared he would be.”
The Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer also hit out at Johnson as the government were to slow in implementing the lockdown.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Sir Keir said: “The Government was too slow to enter the lockdown.
“It has been too slow to increase the number of people being tested.
“It has been too slow in getting NHS staff the critical equipment they need to keep them safe. We need to make sure these mistakes are not repeated.
“Other countries have begun to set out a road map to lift restrictions in certain sectors of the economy and for certain services, especially social care, when the time is right.
“This of course must be done in a careful, considered way with public health, scientific evidence and the safety of workers and families at its heart. But the UK Government should be doing likewise.”
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