We need less forelock tugging from our obsequious media and more hardheaded scrutiny of the government’s mishandling of #COVID19. We are in the middle of a national tragedy and that’s because the government failed to nip the #Coronavirus in the bud in February.
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So while large sections of the British media hail Boris Johnson as a national hero for recovering from Coronavirus, perhaps they actually should do their job and consider this: the UK now has over 14,000 deaths and one of the steepest daily death rate curves in the world.
Where are the critical news headlines of ‘Why are thousands dead’? or ‘How do we stop this from happening again?”
Instead we end up with toadying headline messages of: ‘Boris Johnson is doing short walks’ or ‘Boris plays Suduko in bed’ or ‘trust the science’.
Instead we end up with toadying headline messages of: ‘Boris Johnson is doing short walks’ or ‘Boris plays Suduko in bed’ or ‘trust the science’.
What on earth is wrong with certain sections of British journalism? It’s pitiful. It’s embarrassing.
Large parts of our media have become disturbingly obsequious to our government. Difficult questions are being dodged at the daily government press conferences.
Large parts of our media have become disturbingly obsequious to our government. Difficult questions are being dodged at the daily government press conferences.
We need real journalism more than ever right now to ask some of the important questions on Coronavirus that should be asked and asked again, until proper answers are given by the government.
@BylineTimesSubs are a shining light of asking the questions that matter right now.
@BylineTimesSubs are a shining light of asking the questions that matter right now.
The government need to be held to account over their negligent approach to the pandemic. Right now, the following questions must be asked....
The government claims it was “led by science”. What exactly is scientific about having no mass testing? A lack of PPE for NHS staff? No protection for our care homes? No social distancing for 7 weeks after the first case of Coronavirus was reported in the UK on January 31st?
Why was the NHS woefully underfunded?
Why was the 2016 pandemic exercise findings showing the NHS as totally unprepared, buried and not released by the Tory government?
Why was the 2016 pandemic exercise findings showing the NHS as totally unprepared, buried and not released by the Tory government?
Why did we lockdown seven weeks after the first case was reported in the UK on January 31st, after following a disastrous ‘herd immunity’ policy of mitigation, not suppression?
Why were mass gatherings such as the Cheltenham race festival permitted to go ahead?
Why were mass gatherings such as the Cheltenham race festival permitted to go ahead?
Why did we fail - and still fail - to close the borders or do any screening or quarantines at airports and ferry ports?
Why did we wait seven weeks to buy ventilators?
Why did we refuse the EU ventilator purchase scheme?
Why did we refuse the EU ventilator purchase scheme?
Why did we fail to do any mass testing and tracing, despite evidence showing that the primary pandemic defence (as recommended by the WHO) has been successful in South Korea and Germany?
Why have we failed to get enough PPE for the NHS and the social care sector?
Why haven’t we copied the successful mass community treatment programme in Germany - issued to patients at mild symptoms stage?
Why haven’t we set up a national digital alert and delivery system like Greece have successfully implemented?
Why has the Home Office announced during the pandemic that migrant workers saving lives and risk dying in the NHS will not be given a UK visa with the new Brexit immigration policy next year?
Why has the migrant healthcare workers levy tax to work in the UK been increased to £624 per person in 2020?
Why is the death rate in Britain three times more than Germany?
Why are the UK and US heading towards the worst per capita death rates of any developed country in the world? Who is responsible?
Why aren’t the deaths in care homes and homes reported alongside the hospital deaths?
If you think these questions are for a later day, they are not. All of these questions need to be repeatedly issued to the government. But many of these questions aren’t being asked by our media, who are instead, giving off the impression of subservience to the government.
We have an obsequious media offering very little scrutiny of our government’s appalling mishandling of the Coronavirus crisis and instead they focus on Boris Johnson becoming a ‘national hero’ because he got better. There’s 14,000 people who didn’t.
Boris Johnson’s entire career has been teflon coated. This is encapsulated by the Coronavirus crisis where government negligence is being conveniently ignored by large sections of the media who are instead deifying Boris Johnson as a hero who ‘took one for the team’.
