Time for Boris Johnson to admit pandemic mistakes – The Yorkshire Post says

No post-war premier, not even Margaret Thatcher or Tony Blair, has had to account for the loss of so many lives.

Yet, while the PM is comforted by the sympathy of his supporters and those who instinctively choose to back the government of the day at times of crisis, he risked jeopardising that goodwill with his reluctance, even refusal, to accept that mistakes have been made.

Far from being an act of weakness, it would have been a sign of strength that he was willing, after such a harrowing year, to lead on a cross-party basis rather than demeaning his office by choosing this sombre day, above all others, to belittle Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and others for questioning his approach.

This should not have been an occasion for party politics – the apportion of blame can wait for the public inquiry that will focus far more on the Government’s decision-making rather than Mr Johnson’s belligerent belief that it is Sir Keir, and not him, who has failed Covid’s test of leadership.

But the Prime Minister has been too slow, on countless occasions, to respond to a number of critical occurrences and the belated decision to quarantine people arriving to the UK is just the latest example of this reactionary approach.

And what families want to know, after Mr Johnson had to concede that there’s no likelihood of any schools fully reopening until March 8 at the earliest, is that the Government will refine its decision-making, and listen to its critics on all aspects of policy from education to the vaccine rollout, so that the same mistakes are not repeated time and time again.

Let’s hope, sincerely, that this is still not too much to ask at such a mournful moment in our history.

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