Failing to hold Dominic Cummings & Boris Johnson to account: what I learned. You have to act now. After the event is after the event. You’ll be told to ‘move on’, to ‘get over it’ to ‘look forward’. This is already happening now. While people are dying.
The idea that press has power to hold the government to account is a fantasy from another era. The press is divided, partisan. Half of it is propagandists for the government. Only political will & concerted action by MPs in parliament will have effect. We need parliament back NOW
We have no idea how this govt made its decisions re lockdown & testing because we don’t have the data. But already counter-narrative is in play. ‘Herd immunity was never a plan’. ‘We took the right measures at right time’. Where is the evidence? The data? We simply don’t have it
Critical decisions being made now are being based on critical decisions made earlier. Many of which seemed terrible at the time & now seem nothing less than murderous. This is why scrutiny in real time is so essential. It’s why pressure must be brought on govt to disclose data
There was a reason those of us who investigated Vote Leave & Johnson’s, Gove’s & Cummings’ behaviour went into hyper-alarm first. We witnessed denials & cover-ups & obfuscation & refusal to answer questions to parliament in real time over 3 years. We watched them get away with it
It’s this same team in charge now. (Even while still under investigation by Met police.)Labour front bench failed failed failed us then (honourable exception @tom_watson). And it’s why it’s so crucial it steps up now. Has it even asked for the data behind govt’s decision-making?
