SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 28 March 2024, Thursday |

UK PM Johnson rejects COVID-19 criticism by former aide

On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson dismissed criticism from his Former Adviser Dominic Cummings, saying he did not believe Cummings’ claim that government inactivity resulted in needless deaths.

Johnson responded “No” when asked by opposition Labor Leader Keir Starmer if he accepted the central charges of Cummings’ testimony to a parliamentary committee.

“I don’t think anybody could credibly accuse this government of being complacent about the threat that this virus posed, at any point. We have worked flat out to minimize loss of life.”

Earlier, Cummings said his ex-boss failed in the COVID-19 crisis and ministers fell “disastrously short” of the standards the public had a right to expect during the most devastating global pandemic in decades.

Johnson also said: “The handling of this pandemic has been one of the most difficult things this country’s had to do for a very long time but none of the decisions have been easy.

“To go into a lockdown is a traumatic thing for a country, to deal with a pandemic on the scale has been appallingly difficult.”

    Source:
  • Reuters