boris Johnson Prioritized Personal time as Early Covid warnings Escalated, Reports reveal
London – As the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) braced for potential overwhelm from the emerging Covid-19 crisis in Febuary 2020, then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson took four days away from key government functions, including missing a crucial Cobra emergency committee meeting, according to a report published Friday by The Guardian. The revelations are drawing sharp criticism from bereaved families and raising questions about Johnson’s early response to the pandemic.
The report details Johnson’s activities between February 20th and 23rd, 2020, a period coinciding with escalating warnings about the virus’s potential impact. On February 20th, Johnson missed a Cobra meeting chaired by then-Health Secretary Matt Hancock, during wich Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty cautioned that the Covid outbreak could escalate into a global pandemic. Instead, Johnson was hosting his mother, Charlotte Johnson, and mother-in-law, Josephine McAfee, for lunch at his Chevening estate.
The following day, February 22nd, Johnson spent approximately 90 minutes on ministerial boxes before hosting family in his Downing Street flat and taking a walk in St James’ Park.Together, the Italian government was preparing to implement a lockdown in parts of the country following its first covid-related death. Johnson then reportedly spent time shopping in Sevenoaks before returning to Chevening.
On February 23rd, Johnson returned to Downing Street after several hours working on ministerial boxes. By this date, the UK had confirmed 13 cases of Covid-19.
The first national lockdown in England was announced on March 23rd, by which time the UK had recorded 6,726 confirmed cases and 336 deaths. Between March 2020 and May 2023, Covid-19 was listed on the death certificates of approximately 227,000 people in the UK.
Joe Hurst, spokesperson for Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK, described the revelations as “horrific,” stating thay provide “further evidence that he [Johnson] wasn’t taking Covid seriously, that he was ignoring the warnings he was getting and putting himself ahead of the country at that time. It vindicates further the report that came out on Thursday.” Hurst added, “It sounds like he has questions to answer about how truthful he was in front of the inquiry.”
hurst further characterized Johnson’s actions as “gross misconduct in public office and a total abdication of his [Johnson’s] role and of his primary objective, as prime minister, of keeping people safe.”
Boris Johnson declined to comment on the report.
