Boris Johnson Covid inquiry – live: Baroness Hallett slaps down ex-PM’s defence of Partygate scandal

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Boris Johnson shown all the times he said 'let Covid rip' in uncomfortable inquiry moment

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Covid inquiry chair Baroness Hallet has slapped down Boris Johnson’s defence of Partygate, telling him the scandal “exacerbated” the suffering of bereaved families during the pandemic.

The former prime minister earlier dismissed the Partygate revelations as “a million miles from the reality of what actually happened in Number 10”. He hit out at “dramatic” representations of the controversy, calling them a “travesty of the truth” and “absolutely absurd”.

He did apologise for offence caused and mistakes made but added: “I certainly thought that what we were doing was within the rules.”

Earlier, Mr Johnson admitted to calling his own rules “stupid” as was revealed in a diary entry by Sir Patrick Vallance.

In a significant backtrack from an assurance in his witness statement, Mr Johnson also denied claims by Sir Patrick and Sir Chris Whitty that they were not consulted about the Eat Out to Help Out scheme before it was launched.

Mr Johnson is being grilled at the UK Covid inquiry for a second day. Angry bereaved families continue to protest at Dorland House in London after booing the former prime minister as he left and arrived at the building.

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1701966519

Boris Johnson grilled over ‘malingering work shy people’ comments

Boris Johnson is being grilled over why he called people “malingering” and “work shy” before launching a back to office drive in summer 2021.

The former prime minister was recorded by Sir Patrick Vallance as saying: “We can’t have the b******s of consulting with employees and unions. They need to all come back to work.

“All the malingering work shy people.”

Mr Johnson said his worry was that “people were going to be slow” to acknowledge the success of the UK’s vaccine rollout and staff would continue working from home.

He went on to claim that he wanted a strong economic recovery because it would benefit trade union members and their families.

Tara Cobham7 December 2023 16:281701966463

Johnson rejects suggestion Westminster was ‘high-handed’ in pandemic

Boris Johnson has rejected the suggestion there was a “high-handed, incommunicative approach from Westminster” in the pandemic, insisting the Government had “excellent communications” with the devolved nations of the UK.

The former prime minister did however accept that there had been “blurred” messaging on occasion because of “a succession of press conferences from different parts of the UK”.

Mr Johnson said there had sometimes been “a dissonance in the message” when ideally there would have been “complete coherence”.

Aine Fox reports:

Boris Johnson rejects suggestion Westminster was ‘high-handed’ in pandemic

The former prime minister told the Covid inquiry that the overall performance of the UK in the pandemic as a single entity was ‘remarkable’.

Tara Cobham7 December 2023 16:271701966249

Bereaved families: ‘Johnson did not “get the big calls right”… he failed to take Covid seriously’

The Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK campaign group said Boris Johnson’s evidence sessions show he did not “get the big calls right”.

The former prime minister “failed to take the pandemic seriously in early 2020 leaving us brutally unprepared, and failed to learn from his mistakes meaning that the second wave had an even higher death toll than the first”, it added.

Spokesman Becky Kummer said: “Even when he knew measures needed to be taken to protect lives, he delayed for fear of how it might impact his reputation with certain sections of the press.”

Archie Mitchell, Political Correspondent7 December 2023 16:241701966088

Johnson regrets language used but stressed importance of ‘saying things simply'

Boris Johnson has apologised for “all hurt and offence caused” by his language recorded during the pandemic after he was criticised for his use of “florid” words and phrases as a government official.

The former prime minister said comments such as that old people have “had a good innings” or “are going to die anyway” were “not intended for publication”.

And he said that decision-makers need to be able to “say things simply” even if “taken out of context they appear unfeeling or uncaring”, adding that his “blunt and unpolished” words “represented the layman”.

He said he did not recognise some words, as he claimed that “a lot of what has been reported has been incorrect”.

Tara Cobham7 December 2023 16:211701965493

Johnson denies being ‘shamefully ageist’

Boris Johnson has denied that it was “shamefully ageist” for saying things such as that “older people should just accept their fate rather than destroying the economy”.

The former prime minister said: “I was doing my best to reflect what was a debate that was very much live.”

Archie Mitchell, Political Correspondent7 December 2023 16:111701964866

Watch: Gasps as Johnson snaps at Covid inquiry lawyer over death toll figures

Gasps as Boris Johnson snaps at Covid inquiry lawyer over death toll figuresTara Cobham7 December 2023 16:011701964748

‘We were not prepared to close schools,’ Johnson admits

Boris Johnson has admitted the government was “not prepared suddenly to be forced to close schools”.

The former prime minister told the Covid inquiry the pandemic was a “once in a century event” and it was “fair” to say there was no plan in place to close schools.

Archie Mitchell, Political Correspondent7 December 2023 15:591701964589

Johnson insists disparaging long Covid remarks were ‘reasonable’

Boris Johnson has insisted he was “making a reasonable question” when voicing doubts over the existence of long Covid by comparing the debilitating illness to Gulf War Syndrome.

He said he “recognised the hurt those words must have caused to those with long Covid and their very real suffering”, but caveated: “I was making a reasonable question.”

Tara Cobham7 December 2023 15:561701963658

Johnson refuses to agree institutional racism caused disproportionate impact of Covid

Boris Johnson has refused to agree that the disproportionate impact of Covid on minority ethnic healthcare workers resulted from institutional racism.

When the point was put to him by Leslie Thomas KC, from the Federation of Ethnic Minority Healthcare Organisations (FEMHO), the former prime minister said: “I’m not certain of that.”

Johnson said he had not seen a Public Health England report that Mr Thomas said had come to this conclusion.

Tara Cobham7 December 2023 15:401701963441

‘We built new hospitals’: Johnson pressed on protective measures for minority ethnic groups

Boris Johnson has been pressed on what protective measures his government put in place to protect vulnerable and minority ethnic groups who were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

The former prime minister said: “What we didn’t at that stage know is the extent to which the virus itself would impact different groups differently. That was really only to become apparent in the weeks ahead.”

However, focusing on the disparities faced by Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) healthcare workers, Leslie Thomas KC, from the Federation of Ethnic Minority Healthcare Organisations (FEMHO), pressed the former prime minister. He said the first 10 doctors who died were from minority ethnic backgrounds, which showed it “became apparent very early on” how the pandemic impacted different groups differently.

Mr Johnson went on to cite his widely criticised new hospital building programme when asked what action he took to mitigate the disparities.

The former prime minister said he wanted to make sure NHS staff had “greater protection, above all by being less overworked”.

“One of the things we did was not only to embark on a big programme of hospital building, but recruiting some 50,000 more nurses,” Mr Johnson added.

He said: “If you are a nurse or frontline worker, then clearly one of the best ways to mitigate the risk that you face and the disproportionate risks that you face as a as a BAME frontline care worker is having an extra pair of hands to help you.”

Tara Cobham7 December 2023 15:37NewerOlder✕

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