The UK has recorded more than 230,000 deaths from Covid-19, a similar death rate to the United States and Italy, but higher than other countries in Western Europe, and is still recovering from the economic fallout.
The inquiry, ordered by Johnson in May 2021, delivered a scathing assessment of his government’s response to Covid-19, criticizing his indecisive leadership, his Downing Street office for breaking its own rules, and some of the criticism directed at his chief adviser Dominic Cummings, reports Hina.
“There was a toxic and chaotic culture at the center of British government during the pandemic,” the inquiry’s chair, former judge Heather Hallett, said in her report.
Hallett said Johnson failed to appreciate the severity of the virus that emerged in early 2020 and was distracted by other government business. At that time, Britain was burdened with negotiations on leaving the European Union.
Johnson told the 2023 committee that his government had “grossly underestimated” the risks and that he understood the public’s anger.
If Britain had locked down the country on March 16, just seven days earlier than it actually did, the number of deaths in the first wave by July would have fallen by around 23,000, or 48 percent, the report concluded.
(Vijesti.ba)
