Connect with us

Published

on

Boris Johnson has told the COVID inquiry he “would be surprised” if he’d said he was “manipulated or pushed” into implementing the first lockdown.

Written evidence that the former prime minister submitted to the inquiry in August has been published, with Mr Johnson saying he had reflected on whether the lockdowns “did more harm than good”.

It comes after those close to Mr Johnson during his time in Number 10 gave evidence to the inquiry in person this week.

Dominic Cummings, his former chief aide, told the inquiry about the decisions made in the early days of the pandemic and claimed scientists tended to be resistant to the idea of lockdown in late February or early March.

Politics latest: Sunak criticises pro-Palestine protests on Armistice Day

Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips

Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips

Watch live each week on Sunday at 8:30am on Sky channel 501, Freeview 233, Virgin 602, the Sky News website and app or YouTube.

Tap here for more

In his documents to the COVID inquiry, Mr Johnson said: “I would be surprised if I ever said that I had been manipulated or pushed into the first lockdown or that I had been ‘gamed on the numbers’ or anything to this effect.”

He went on to say that he has “reflected (no doubt out loud and no doubt many times) about whether the lockdowns would do (and did do) more harm than good”.

The former PM added: “I believe that it was the duty of any pragmatic and responsible leader to have such a debate, both with himself and with colleagues.

“We were between a rock and a hard place, the devil and the deep blue sea.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Cummings: No 10 was in ‘complete chaos’

Read more:
Johnson asked if blowing hairdryer up nose could ‘kill COVID’, Cummings claims

Inquiry reveals toxic, destructive atmosphere in No 10
Civil servants ‘wanted’ people to get coronavirus days before lockdown

Mr Johnson is expected to give evidence in person to the COVID inquiry later this year.

In his written evidence, he said: “We simply had no good choices, and it was necessary at all times to weigh up the harms that any choice would cause.

“I was very worried about the economic harm caused by the action we took against COVID-19 and whether it would do more damage to the country than the virus itself.

“But I always attached the highest priority to human life and public health.”

Mr Johnson said that while it may have been “possible” to avoid a lockdown, he could not think how this would have been done without a vaccine or drugs and thought it was “highly unlikely”.

Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts

In his evidence to the inquiry this week, Mr Cummings said: “Many journalists now write about March 2020 as if public health experts were longing to do lockdown and bullied the PM into it.

“This story is totally false.

“In fact, public health experts in February-March were overwhelmingly hostile to lockdown, thinking it should not be tried and if tried could not work. Most public health experts only supported lockdown after it was done.”

Continue Reading

Politics

Cutting cash ISA allowance could backfire – and make mortgages more expensive, MPs warn

Published

on

By

Cutting cash ISA allowance could backfire - and make mortgages more expensive, MPs warn

Cutting the annual allowance for cash ISAs could backfire in multiple ways, an influential group of MPs has warned the government.

For months, speculation has been growing that the chancellor may slash the yearly limit for tax-free savings – potentially from £20,000 to £10,000.

The government is hoping to encourage savers to invest in stocks and shares ISAs instead, which can offer greater long-term returns and improve financial health.

But according to the Treasury Committee, slashing allowances would be unlikely to achieve this – and could lead to higher prices for consumers.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Chancellor faces tough budget choices

Building societies rely on cash ISA savings to fund mortgage lending – and a drop in deposits might lead to higher interest rates or fewer products on the market.

Committee chairwoman Dame Meg Hillier said “we are a long way” from achieving a culture where substantial numbers of Britons invest in the stock market.

“This is not the right time to cut the cash ISA limit,” she warned. “Instead, the Treasury should focus on ensuring that people are equipped with the necessary information and confidence to make informed investment decisions.

More on Budget

“Without this, I fear the chancellor’s attempts to transform the UK’s investment culture simply will not deliver the change she seeks, instead hitting savers and borrowers.”

Read more: How to get started with a stocks and shares ISA

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Govt ‘not satisfied’ after inflation sticks at 3.8%

The latest figures suggest two-thirds of contributions to ISAs in the 2023/24 tax year went to cash accounts – bringing total holdings to £360bn.

An estimated 14.4 million consumers solely save in a cash ISA, with the average balance standing at £6,993.

Surveys suggest that, if allowances were cut, consumers may move their cash to alternative savings accounts where they would have to pay tax on interest.

Skipton Group executive Charlotte Harrison previously warned: “Building societies, which funds over a third of all first-time buyer mortgages, rely on retail deposits like cash ISAs to fund their lending.

“If ISA inflows fall, the cost of funding is likely to rise, and that means mortgages could become both more expensive and harder to access.”

She claimed a policy change could end up “penalising savers who want low-risk, flexible options” – adding: “Cash ISAs work. Undermining them doesn’t.”

Read more money news:
What’s behind surprising rise in retail sales

Tesco rolls out bodycams to security staff

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Tax hikes possible, Reeves tells Sky News

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “At the moment, often returns on savings and returns on pensions are lower than in comparable countries around the world.

“I do want to make sure that when people put something aside for the future, they get good returns on those savings.”

The committee’s warning comes amid speculation over whether Ms Reeves will raise income tax at next month’s budget – breaking a key Labour manifesto pledge.

Newspaper reports have suggested that the basic rate of income tax could be increased for the first time since the 1970s – up 1p to 21%.

This could raise about £8bn and help tackle a black hole in the country’s finances, but risks squeezing consumers further as a cost-of-living crisis continues.

A 1p rise to the higher band of income tax – taking that rate to 41% – is also believed to be under consideration, but this would only boost the nation’s coffers by £2bn.

Ms Reeves has refused to rule out such a move, telling Sky’s deputy political editor Sam Coates that she is looking at both tax rises and spending cuts ahead of her statement to the Commons on 26 November.

Continue Reading

Politics

Bank of England probes data-mining lending strategies fueling AI bets

Published

on

By

Bank of England probes data-mining lending strategies fueling AI bets

Bank of England probes data-mining lending strategies fueling AI bets

The Bank of England is worried that a rise in financiers’ lending to data center lending may cause an AI bubble reminiscent of the dot-com crash in the early 2000s.

Continue Reading

Politics

Trump to nominate SEC’s ‘pro-crypto’ Michael Selig as CFTC chair: Report

Published

on

By

<div>Trump to nominate SEC's 'pro-crypto' Michael Selig as CFTC chair: Report</div>

<div>Trump to nominate SEC's 'pro-crypto' Michael Selig as CFTC chair: Report</div>

The rumored nomination of Michael Selig follows the CFTC nomination process hitting a snag in September when Brian Quintenz was withdrawn.

Continue Reading

Trending