Thread by @danielgoyal

Johnson’s Testimony - Opinion

After 13 years of seeing this govt attempting to spin even the most damning of self-inflicted catastrophes, Johnson’s attempt to spin the UK’s tragically incompetent pandemic response takes the biscuit. It was as arrogant as it was hopeless.

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It should have come as no surprise that Johnson would treat the UK’s Covid Inquiry with the same contempt as he had shown the British people throughout the pandemic.

But, in truth, I had hoped he would have contained his overwhelming sense to serve only himself for even a moment, so as to help the British Public avoid a repeat pandemic disaster - which is, after all, the primary reason for his appearance. He didn’t.

It was though, quite a performance. ‘Performance’ being the operative word. He spoke not to the public, or to the millions who have suffered throughout this pandemic; he did not seek to enlighten the Inquiry as to the errors and pitfalls of leading a pandemic…

No, instead, he spoke to his backers and supporters; he drew political dividing lines; he used the Inquiry to question the use of the very anti-libertarian foundations of pandemic management. Clearly, he remains open to a political comeback

His performance was actually well-prepared. He had counterarguments prepared to the main criticisms he faced. None held up to even light scrutiny but they sounded plausible enough to draw in those who had previously been smitten with his posh DelBoy style.

And here we come to the fatal position Johnson adopted early that nullified his attempt to apologise and any hint of remorse: the UK response was OK - “middle of the pack”. If he thought they did well then he had nothing to apologise for.

This isn’t just an issue of being heartless or callous in the face of the bereaved. This is to show a disdain for the UK, a clear admission of not giving a damn about what happens to the UK the next time a pandemic hits our shores. His testimony exposed him as deeply unpatriotic.

His arguments were not without a logical thread - probably the best money can buy. But even a £10k a day Barrister can’t nullify the screeds of data and evidence stacked against Johnson. His general positions went:

- it was really, really difficult but I made no mistakes;

- we didn’t have the data to act but we didn't have the data not to act;

- I was trying really hard not to lock us down but didn’t do anything to prevent us locking down;

- I know people are saying they told me to act and there are minutes of meetings telling me how bad things were and there are dozens of WhatsApps and testimonies saying they were telling me thousands of people were going to die but I don’t remember that so it doesn't count.

- I was really concerned by the effects of shutting down businesses and schools so I waited until it was so late that it meant we had to lockdown longer and harder. And I repeated this three times.

- there wasn’t a toxic, misogynistic culture creating chaos and paralysis at No 10, it was just an open and driven culture in a high-pressure environment…an open and driven culture that didn’t achieve anything.

And on and on he droned searching for optically correct answers, occasionally smirking to himself when he thought he found an argument around an awkward piece of reality and then getting visibly angry when KC after KC simply held a mirror up to his ridiculous arguments.

In some ways, it was good to see him squirm. In other ways, it was infuriating to witness just how undeserving Johnson was of the public’s trust and the obedience of thousands of civil servants. It was quite unnerving to think such a person could end up with such responsibility.

There is some criticism that the lead KC went easy on Johnson. And having seen Mr Keith take on other witnesses, it did seem he didn’t challenge Johnson as much. Was this just allowing Johnson to reveal himself to all? Or had Johnson’s legal team warned the Inquiry?

Alternatively, the Inquiry has heard most of the evidence for this module. Its opinion seems to be that the delays to Jan & Feb were a combination of scientists being overcautious about putting in restrictions and Hancock being a bit of a wet blanket as a leader…

The delays in early March were mostly due to No 10 infighting and the critical delay from 14th March to the 23rd was probably Johnson’s but in the context of the other failures. Mr Keith did come to life when questioning Johnson on the subsequent lockdowns.

By September there were near unanimous calls for more action - to keep the R below 1. Scientists were united (although Johnson’s says not all!!!). His advisers were strangely united at this point too. More needed to be done. Johnson pushed back. And Mr Keith demonstrated that.

What was not shown and could have been, was that Johnson set out his stall early. He was very clear from early Feb that he a) knew the pandemic was going global and b) he would resist any actions to restrict the economy. This was his position then and I suspect what his…

WhatsApps would have very clearly shown between Jan and June 2020. And as the leader, it was his strategy and position that the rest served. Those who supported it were heard and even promoted. Those who didn’t were pushed to the side. He decided and they fell behind him.

What remains unknown is whether Johnson actually maintained that position throughout the pandemic. That, the quicker everyone gets infected (or at least 60%) then the quicker we get through this. So what if 300k people have to die to achieve it?

KC did also push back hard on Johnson’s attempt to suggest the UK had an average response. I felt he could have highlighted that part of the failed response was also the worst economic impact and one of the longest lockdowns of all comparable nations.

In any regards, the evidence presented leaves me with only one conclusion: Johnson didn’t want to contain the pandemic; he wanted to get through the pandemic as quickly as possible and in his mind, delays and failures moved us closer to the end of the pandemic.

The only explanation I can see for the delay in March 2020 and again in October 2020 and again in Feb 2021 and the EOTHO scheme and the lack of anything substantive to prevent the next lockdown was to achieve herd immunity and be the first through the pandemic

[9 more to follow]

In terms of the evidence (bearing in mind that the NHS Module and Procurement Module are to follow) it is hard not to conclude that Johnson’s position was to do as little as possible, let the virus do the “inevitable” and sit back and let the pandemic profits flow.

No question the heroes of the two days were the Barristers acting on behalf of stakeholder groups. Again, the Covid Bereaved Families for Justice pushed hard against the spin and drew out some important truths. Making the point that Johnson just says things as fact but…

Produces no actual facts to back them up - why would he, don’t they know who he is? But the KC did. And held Mr Johnson to account well and clearly demonstrated that the UK was second only to Italy for excess deaths (albeit Italy had 70 days of lockdown and the UK 220 days)

The KC representing Long Covid landed a killer blow that could lead to litigation against the govt in time to come. Johnson was told repeatedly by his advisers that Long Covid is a big issue. Yet the KC exposed that Johnson hadn’t considered it when weighing up decisions nor did

Johnson or his govt explain the risk of Long Covid to the public so that people could make an informed decision on what protections they may wish to take. While Johnson didn’t believe Long Covid was real initially, his scientific advisers had no such doubts and told him. GUILTY!

If you wanted to watch any part of the Inquiry I recommend the KC represented BME workers who managed to show Johnson up while conveying the sense of annoyance we all shared. Of all the testimony, I found his the most therapeutic. He told Johnson straight.

So in conclusion, Johnson’s performance was perhaps the worst of all witnesses to date. No insight. No reflection. No attempt to help us avoid a repeat disaster. His apologies were devoid of any real feeling. He remained the petulant teenager throughout.

We are also left asking whether the Inquiry will achieve its stated aim of helping to prevent another terrible pandemic response. Given the lack of contrition from Johnson and other high-ranking govt officials who still remain in post, the hope of meaningful change is diminishing