Boris Johnson’s Government face damning verdict from coronavirus inquiry: Andrew Vine

They are emblematic of a Government response that stands increasingly exposed as inadequate to the point of being shambolic. For Boris Johnson to insist last week that he was “very proud” of how Britain has handled the pandemic was preposterous. It was also deeply insensitive to the feelings of those grieving for loved ones.

Yes, it’s right to be proud of the way people have handled what has been asked of them with fortitude and concern for others. And everybody should be proud of those on the front line of treating the ill, whether in the NHS or care homes, who deserve nothing but gratitude and praise.

But a Prime Minister proud of his Government overseeing the third-highest death toll in the world, after the United States and Brazil, both presided over by leaders who appear to have, at best, a tenuous grasp of reality? Come off it, Mr Johnson.

The entire country can see the Government’s response has been found wanting, and that is reflected in how low Mr Johnson’s approval ratings have fallen, not least as a result of backing his chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, who flouted the lockdown to drive 260 miles from London to Durham whilst suffering from coronavirus.

What appeared at first to be a determined and clearly thought out response to this emergency has been shown up as fragmented and inadequate as the weeks have passed. A failure to take the threat posed by coronavirus seriously enough at the beginning of the year – even to the extent of Mr Johnson missing Cobra emergency meetings – has become apparent, as have a series of subsequent errors.

Lack of personal protective equipment for front-line staff, a U-turn on the need for testing, dithering over whether and when to introduce a lockdown and a prolonged debate over the merits of wearing face masks all speak of an inadequate response. And the policy of discharging elderly hospital patients into care homes without testing them for the virus, triggering a wave of quite possibly avoidable deaths that continues, was utterly irresponsible.

Even now, months into the global pandemic when lessons could surely be learned from countries that have managed to keep death rates much lower than ours, the Government appears slow-footed. The much vaunted programme of testing people who may have the virus and tracing those who have been in contact with them is unlikely to be fully operational until the autumn. Nor is the phone app to alert people who have been in close proximity to possible Covid sufferers anywhere near ready for widespread use.

Once all this is laid out in detail in the public inquiry that must follow into the Government’s handling of the pandemic, it is likely to add up to a damning verdict that lives have been lost needlessly. That will make uncomfortable reading for Mr Johnson – and depending when it happens, possibly prove fatal to his hopes of a second term as Prime Minister.

The minds of the British people are still preoccupied with the day-to-day business of coping with a gradual return to some sort of normality. In the weeks ahead, thoughts are going to be dominated by what it means for livelihoods. But after that, there will be time for reflection and it may well produce a widespread feeling that the Government’s response was not good enough and people died as a result.

Part of the problem is a stubborn refusal on the part of Mr Johnson and his Ministers to admit they have made any mistakes, as demonstrated by his insistence on how proud he is. There’s a worrying contrast here to other countries, which have been honest enough to admit that they could have handled the pandemic better. That has happened in France, Italy, Norway and Sweden, where the governments have been much more candid about what might have been done differently.

By admitting that, they are demonstrating a willingness to learn from mistakes in order to be better prepared for a second wave of coronavirus, or the next time a pandemic strikes. The absence of that willingness to admit failings and learn from them in Mr Johnson is disturbing. It just won’t wash to insist Britain has got everything right in its response, when the numbers of dead tell a completely different story.

The Prime Minister does no favours for the country, or himself, in being so bullish about the Government’s actions. Too much has gone wrong, and refusing to acknowledge that lays the ground for more blunders to come.

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