Boris Johnson to face second day of questioning at COVID inquiry

Published

2 years ago

December 7, 2023

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Boris Johnson will face a second day of questioning at the COVID inquiry today following his five hour quizzing on Wednesday.

The former prime minister will return to the hearing having been booed by crowds of bereaved families as he left.

Partygate, a scandal over rule-breaching gatherings at No 10 during the pandemic that dogged Mr Johnson’s premiership, is expected to feature during today’s proceedings.

Victims’ families will also be given another chance to read out impact statements.

During yesterday’s evidence he admitted he should have “twigged much sooner” about the threat posed by COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic, as he apologised for “the pain and the loss and the suffering” of its victims.

He also told the inquiry that:

The government “underestimated the scale and pace of challenge” from COVID – thinking the peak would come in May or June;
The tone of private WhatsApp exchanges was a “reflection of the agony” the country was going through;
A denial he was on holiday over the half-term break in February 2020 – as claimed by former aide Dominic Cummings
Mr Johnson explaining that he “can’t say” whether he would have “gone earlier” in ordering the first lockdown, but that he took “full responsibility” for the decisions made;
The former prime minister offering an apology to sufferers of long COVID, having described the condition as “b*****ks” in 2021;
He stood by Matt Hancock, saying the then health secretary did “a good job” whatever his “defects”.

The first day of the former prime minister’s evidence, which was hit by protests, saw him defending the culture in No 10 after it was branded “toxic” by other witnesses.

He rejected accusations he had shown poor leadership by vacillating over whether to back tough restrictions in the early months of 2020.

Former aides have blamed his tendency to waiver on key decisions in March of that year for delaying the lockdown.

But he argued it was his job to “test” the “completely novel policy”, adding: “It matters to the livelihoods of people up and down the land. I had to go through the arguments and that is what I was doing.”

Challenged over the slow response to the crisis, Mr Johnson said Whitehall “underestimated” the need for action, adding that it was only when he saw the “horrors” of the outbreak in Italy that he realised the seriousness of the virus.

He suggested the experience of previous diseases such as SARS, MERS and swine flu clouded officials’ judgment while a coronavirus pandemic was “outside our living experience”.

The former Tory leader defended his eventual decision to order England’s first lockdown on 23 March 2020, saying by the middle of that month he was giving arguments against restrictions “pretty short shrift”.

“I no longer had the luxury of waiting. It was over,” he told Baroness Heather Hallett’s probe.

Mr Johnson appeared to become emotional as he discussed his “anxiety” about possible behavioural fatigue if he imposed a lockdown too early without a vaccination programme.

He looked on the verge of tears as he described 2020 as a “tragic, tragic” year.

Mr Johnson did not deny questioning why his government was “destroying everything for people who will die anyway soon”, but suggested the comment was not “designed to be publicly broadcast”.

“It’s an indication of the cruelty of the choice that we faced and the appalling balancing act that I had to do throughout the pandemic,” he said when asked about a note written by his former aide Imran Shafi which recorded that he had made the remark.

Mr Johnson conceded, with hindsight, that mass gatherings should have been stopped earlier and he should not have shaken hands with patients at a hospital where there were coronavirus cases.

His appearance before the inquiry was interrupted by protesters as he began by issuing an apology to victims of the pandemic, with four people removed from the hearing room.

“Can I just say how glad I am to be at this inquiry and how sorry I am for the pain and the loss and the suffering of the COVID victims,” Mr Johnson said.

He went on to acknowledge that his government made “mistakes” and took “personal responsibility for all the decisions that we made”.

Among those decisions were the speed of the government’s response to the pandemic in 2020, the lockdown decisions and their timeliness, the explosion of the virus in the residential care sector, the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, and the decision not to introduce a circuit-breaker later in 2020.

Mr Johnson said that, with hindsight, “it may be possible to see things that we could have done differently”, but at the time “I felt… we were doing our best in very difficult circumstances”.

He claimed he was “not sure” whether government decision-making had led to “materially” a larger number of excess deaths as a result of the pandemic.

UK

Families of British Air India crash victims ‘feel utterly abandoned’ and hit out at government

Published

2 hours ago

June 16, 2025

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Families of British Air India crash victims 'feel utterly abandoned' and hit out at government

The families of three of the British victims of last week’s Air India crash in Ahmedabad have criticised the UK government’s response to the disaster, saying they “feel utterly abandoned”.

It comes after an Air India Dreamliner crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad airport in western India, killing 229 passengers and 12 crew. One person on the flight survived.

Among the passengers and crew on the Gatwick-bound aircraft were 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian national.

In a statement, the families of three British citizens who lost their lives said they were calling on the UK government to “immediately step up its presence and response on the ground in Ahmedabad”.

The families said they rushed to India to be by their loved ones’ sides, “only to find a disjointed, inadequate, and painfully slow government reaction”.

“There is no UK leadership here, no medical team, no crisis professionals stationed at the hospital,” said a family spokesperson.

“We are forced to make appointments to see consular staff based 20 minutes away in a hotel, while our loved ones lie unidentified in an overstretched and under-resourced hospital.

“We’re not asking for miracles – we’re asking for presence, for compassion, for action,” another family member said.

“Right now, we feel utterly abandoned.”

The families listed a number of what they called “key concerns”, including a “lack of transparency and oversight in the identification and handling of remains”.

They also demanded a “full crisis team” at the hospital within 24 hours, a British-run identification unit, and financial support for relatives of the victims.

A local doctor had “confirmed” the delays in releasing the bodies were “linked to severe understaffing”, according to the families, who also called for an independent inquiry into the UK government’s response.

“Our loved ones were British citizens. They deserved better in life. They certainly deserve better in death,” the statement added.

Sky News has approached the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office for comment.

Families and friends of the victims have already expressed their anger and frustration – mostly aimed at the authorities in India – over the lack of information.

UK

Tributes paid to mother-of-four among two skydivers who died in ‘tragic accident’

Published

3 hours ago

June 16, 2025

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Tributes paid to mother-of-four among two skydivers who died in 'tragic accident'

A mother-of-four was among two skydivers who died following a “tragic accident” at an airfield in Devon.

Belinda Taylor was pronounced dead at the scene following Friday afternoon’s incident in the area of Dunkeswell Aerodrome near Honiton.

On Facebook, her partner Scott Armstrong wrote: “I miss you so much, you were my best friend.

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, from making my children feel at home to putting up with my mess.

“… there’s just so much that I don’t have the words to express it.

“I feel so lost. I don’t know where home is without you.”

Ms Taylor’s eldest son, Connor Bowles, paid tribute to a “selfless woman” who was also a grandmother to two young children.

Thanking investigators for their work so far, he told DevonLive: “She will be deeply missed and will leave an everlasting impression on all those she has met in life.”

The identity of the second skydiver who died is yet to be made public, but their family has been informed.

British Skydiving has confirmed it will be investigating the incident – with a report sent to the coroner, the Civil Aviation Authority and the police.

In a statement, SkydiveBuzz, which operates at the airfield, said its “deepest condolences go out to the families, friends and everyone affected by this devastating event”.

A spokesperson added: “Safety is, and always has been, our top priority. We are fully cooperating with the investigation and continue to uphold the highest possible standards in everything we do.

“No further details will be provided at this time. We respectfully ask for privacy for all those affected, including our team, during this incredibly difficult time.”

UK

Career spy Blaise Metreweli to become first woman to head MI6

Published

6 hours ago

June 16, 2025

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Career spy Blaise Metreweli to become first woman to head MI6

Career spy Blaise Metreweli will become the first woman to head MI6 in a “historic appointment”, the prime minister has announced.

She will take over from Sir Richard Moore as the 18th Chief, also known as “C”, when he steps down in the autumn.

“The historic appointment of Blaise Metreweli comes at a time when the work of our intelligence services has never been more vital,” Sir Keir Starmer said in a statement released on Sunday night.

“The United Kingdom is facing threats on an unprecedented scale – be it aggressors who send their spy ships to our waters or hackers whose sophisticated cyber plots seek to disrupt our public services.”

Of the other main spy agencies, GCHQ is also under female command for the first time.

Anne Keast-Butler took on the role in 2023, while MI5 has previously twice been led by a woman.

Until now, a female spy chief had only headed MI6 – also known as the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) – in the James Bond movies.

Dame Judi Dench held the fictional role – called “M” in the films instead of “C” – between 1995 and 2015.

Ms Metreweli currently serves as “Q”, one of four director generals inside MI6.

The position – also made famous by the James Bond films, with the fictional “Q” producing an array of spy gadgets – means she is responsible for technology and innovation.

Ms Metreweli, a Cambridge graduate, joined MI6 in 1999.

Unlike the outgoing chief, who spent some of his service as a regular diplomat in the foreign office, including as ambassador to Turkey, she has spent her entire career as an intelligence officer.

Much of that time was dedicated to operational roles in the Middle East and Europe.

Ms Metreweli, who is highly regarded by colleagues, also worked as a director at MI5.

In a statement, she said she was “proud and honoured to be asked to lead my service”.

“MI6 plays a vital role – with MI5 and GCHQ – in keeping the British people safe and promoting UK interests overseas,” she said.

“I look forward to continuing that work alongside the brave officers and agents of MI6 and our many international partners.”

Sir Richard said: “Blaise is a highly accomplished intelligence officer and leader, and one of our foremost thinkers on technology. I am excited to welcome her as the first female head of MI6.”