The prime minister had planned a Churchill-style speech. But his U-turn reveals the true cost of his Covid bungling
How was “freedom day” for you? On the stroke of midnight a photogenic few leapt on to the dancefloor and raved into the small hours; but the NHS, social care, schools, supermarkets, hauliers, hospitality and transport sectors rumbled and raged with incomprehension at the chaos and hypocrisy unleashed by our leaders. Not even Boris Johnson’s Houdini magic may prevent these U-turns, dishonesties and panics turning his second anniversary at No 10 into his Black Monday turning-point.
The prime minister’s glory day was such a disappointment. He had planned an event to declare his own VE Day – virus victory – “by summoning the spirit of Churchill with appropriately stirring rhetoric” at “an historic venue associated with the wartime leader”, according to a government source. In a rare wise move, Downing Street quietly cancelled it.
