Data during the COVID-19 pandemic “bamboozled” Boris Johnson, according to a public investigation into his administration’s handling of the world health crisis that was heard on Monday.
Johnson, who was the prime minister at the time, reportedly occasionally had trouble remembering scientific information, according to former chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance.
Vallance wrote:” My God, this is complicated” in one entry from May 4, 2020, recalling a meeting with Johnson about schools. Models wo n’t offer a solution. PM has been duped, without a doubt.
” PM asking whether we’ve overdone it on the lethality of this disease” was the title of another letter from the same month. He alternates between optimism and pessimism before saying this.
In a June article, Vallance remarked on how difficult it was to watch Johnson review his stats. He claimed that it was nearly impossible for him to comprehend relative and absolute risk.
Johnson was “distressed” to see attendees at a Battle of Britain memorial service in September of that year wearing face masks and acting socially distant, according to another notebook entry from Vallance.
Johnson described the scene as “mad and spooky, we have to end it,” according to Vallance, who has received criticism for the inquiry from a number of former senior advisers.
begins to doubt whether numbers actually result in deaths and to challenge them. claims it is n’t exponential, etc.,” he continued, alluding to Johnson.
Vallance wrote,” Looked broken- head in hands a lot,” to describe the leader’s reaction to the virus ‘ spread. Is the fact that it spreads so widely a result of our great libertarian nation?
We are too shit to get our act together, so perhaps we are being licked as a species.
Vallance also recalled how Rishi Sunak, the then-finance minister, was overheard saying in a meeting in July 2020 that COVID-19 should not be handled by the government.
Following the initial national lockdown, plans were being made to reopen the nation.
When ministers wanted to abolish the two-metre social distance rule, they “had n’t really read or taken the time to understand the science advice,” according to other notes from Vallance from June 2020.
No. 10 ( Downing Street ) is working hard to release measures, such as bars and clubs. He wrote,” They are pushing hard and want the science changed.
We must keep our hats in place. He continued,” There’ll probably be a second peak.
Later this year, Johnson and Sunak, who is currently the prime minister, will be interviewed as part of the inquiry, which is being presided over by a retired senior judge.
Following a string of scandals, including lockdown-breaking parties held at Downing Street, Johnson’s term as prime minister came to an end.
