| Blogs > bondjam33 > The pursuit of happiness |
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38 days when Britain sleepwalked into disaster Boris Johnson skipped five Cobra meetings on the virus, calls order protective gear were ignored and scientists’ warnings fell deaf ears. Failings in February may have cost thousands of lives the third Friday of January a silent and stealthy killer was creeping across the world. Passing from person person and borne on ships and planes, the coronavirus was already leaving a trail of bodies. The virus had spread from China countries and was almost certainly in many others. Sensing the coming danger, the British government briefly went into wartime mode that day, holding a meeting of Cobra, its national crisis committee. But it took just an hour that January 24 lunchtime to brush aside the coronavirus threat. Matt Hancock, the health secretary, bounced out of Whitehall after chairing the meeting and breezily told reporters the risk to the UK public was “low”. This was despite the publication that day of an alarming study by Chinese doctors in the medical journal, The Lancet. It assessed the lethal potential of the virus, for the first time suggesting it was comparable to the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, which killed 50 million people. Unusually, Boris Johnson had been absent from Cobra. The (National Disaster) committee which is normally chaired by the prime minister. Johnson had found time that day, however, join in a lunar new year dragon eyes ritual as part of Downing Street’s reception for the Chinese community, led by the country’s ambassador. It was a big day for Johnson and there was a triumphal mood in Downing Street because the withdrawal treaty from the European Union was being signed in the late afternoon. Johnson went on miss four further Cobra meetings the virus. It would not be until March 2 — another five weeks — that Johnson would attend a Cobra meeting about the coronavirus. But by then it was almost certainly too late. The virus had sneaked into our airports, our trains, our workplaces and our homes. Britain was on course for one of the worst infections of the most deadly virus to have the world in more than a century. Last week, a senior adviser Downing Street broke ranks and blamed the weeks of complacency a failure of leadership in cabinet. In particular, the prime minister was singled out. “There’s no way you’re at war if your PM isn’t there,” the adviser said. “And what you learn about Boris was he didn’t chair any meetings. He liked his country breaks. He didn’t work weekends. It was like working for an old-fashioned chief executive in a local authority 20 years ago. There was a real sense that he didn’t do urgent crisis planning. It was exactly like people feared he would be.” |
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Extract from an article in The Times
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4/19/2020 4:33 pm |
My oldest son is stationed there and on his base some 11 have contracted the virus already. I am so worried about his safety. Our leaders are so lax and unconcerned choosing business and money over our lives. Sir Winston and Pres. Washington would both turn over in their graves if they knew. Such a dam shame.
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And Now Boris suffers with the Virus also... Instant Karma?
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