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On Newsnight I was asked what I thought the biggest mistake Johnson's government made during the acute phase of the pandemic.
I only got to give one answer, but if I'd had time I would have said:
1. Johnson missed 5 COBRA meetings. Didn’t chair his first one until early March.
🧵
I only got to give one answer, but if I'd had time I would have said:
1. Johnson missed 5 COBRA meetings. Didn’t chair his first one until early March.
🧵
Missing those COBRA meetings meant he was not up-to-date with the latest information he required.
2. SAGE warned against physical contact in early March – next day Johnson was boasting about shaking hands with patients (including covid patients) in hospital.
A huge error.
2. SAGE warned against physical contact in early March – next day Johnson was boasting about shaking hands with patients (including covid patients) in hospital.
A huge error.
3. The Johnson government locked down too late in March of 2020. Even a week early would have saved tens of thousands of lives.
huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/lockdown…
huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/lockdown…
4. Discharging patients from hospital to care homes without negative covid tests resulting in huge numbers of deaths in care homes.
There was no protective ring.
There was no protective ring.
5. Throughout Johnson claimed to be “following the science” and yet he overruled his advisers and sought separate advice of fringe scientists in September 2020 when SAGE was suggesting a circuit breaker.
6. Later in 2020 Johnson tried to “Save Christmas” in the face of mounting evidence that we should have been taking action and then he had to impose to impose lockdown anyway. 
7. He didn't learn from experience.
How did daily deaths in January 2021 exceed those in April 2020?
We knew what needed to be done, we knew we had a vaccine coming, indeed we were delivering it already and still that wasn’t enough for the government to take the action.
How did daily deaths in January 2021 exceed those in April 2020?
We knew what needed to be done, we knew we had a vaccine coming, indeed we were delivering it already and still that wasn’t enough for the government to take the action.
8. In January 2021 our kids went back to school for one day.
Mixing with each other after the Christmas break and reseeding the infection.
It wasn’t like the government didn’t have two weeks of school holidays of make a plan.
Mixing with each other after the Christmas break and reseeding the infection.
It wasn’t like the government didn’t have two weeks of school holidays of make a plan.
9. The government said "keeping schools open" was their "top priority" and yet they didn't do anything to reduce transmission in schools to ensure they could stay open. No ventilation no filtration.
Why did pubs open before schools in summer 2020?
Why did pubs open before schools in summer 2020?
10. Hosting parties in number 10.
Breaking their own lockdown rules.
How did they expect others to comply when they couldn't even do it themselves?
Breaking their own lockdown rules.
How did they expect others to comply when they couldn't even do it themselves?
There are many, many more.
No government can be expected to get everything right, but we had a right to expect them not to get all of these things wrong.
No government can be expected to get everything right, but we had a right to expect them not to get all of these things wrong.
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