Lord Bethell says Boris Johnson did ‘everything he could’ to avoid focusing on pandemic in early days of crisis

Brexit was prioritised over tackling Covid-19 in the early days of the outbreak, a former health minister has said, as the inquiry into the UK response to the pandemic gathers pace.

Lord Bethell, who was appointed a health minister in March 2020, the month the UK went into its first lockdown, said Boris Johnson did “everything he could” to avoid focusing on the pandemic.

Continue reading…

You May Also Like

I was Corbyn’s chief of staff. We acted decisively to ensure antisemites were kicked out of Labour | Karie Murphy

The party’s delays in dealing with antisemitism caused real hurt. But new…

LIV golfers’ different attitudes towards legal action offers insight into motives | Ewan Murray

It would be a mistake to assume every golfer swayed by a…

The Convict’s spluttered truths of his own choosing meet Starmer’s scorn | John Crace

Pressed on the cost of living, Boris Johnson compulsively, needily uses the…

Coal projects outside China becoming ‘uninsurable’, says climate group

As big firms stop insuring coal, complex schemes unlikely to find expertise…