Boris Johnson was advised Covid will ‘sweep world’ days earlier than he went on vacation
A bombshell WhatsApp exhibits Boris Johnson was warned Covid would “sweep world” days earlier than he went on vacation.
The former PM took a 10-day break through the February half time period in 2020 when he acquired no briefings on the virus. On February 6, Dominic Cummings advised Mr Johnson that coronavirus was in all probability “out of control” and would “sweep world”.
The No10 adviser posted the a stark message in a WhatsApp group together with Mr Johnson and his high aides. “Need briefing on corona tmrw. Chief scientist told me today it’s prob out of control now an will sweep world. Will be major comms exercise,” he wrote.
Lord Lister, the No10 chief-of-staff, the next morning on February 7, added: “The COBRA assembly was I feel clear that China might be loosing (sic) it and as soon as it reaches us it is not going to peak for 3 months. “Dom is correct the Comms is vital and now we have to look always that now we have a plan and thought it by means of.” Mr Johnson replied: “Yes please. Need to speak about coronavirus comms at 9.”
Despite the warnings, Mr Johnson went on vacation every week in a while February 14. The inquiry has heard that he acquired no emails, Cobra briefings or written papers about Covid for 10 days through the February 2020 half time period – though the primary circumstances of the virus had already been present in Britain.
The PM spent the break at Chevening, the grace-and-favour mansion in Kent. In his witness assertion, Dominic Cummings wrote: “He said he wanted to work on his Shakespeare book.” Mr Johnson signed a ebook deal in 2015 to write down Shakespeare: The Riddle of Genius, however it has by no means been printed. He has denied that he wrote the ebook through the February break.
The inquiry this morning additionally heard that Mr Johnson didn’t attend a vital assembly of the COBRA emergency committee when the Chief Medical Officer warned coronavirus may develop into a pandemic. Minutes proven on the Covid Inquiry confirmed Professor Sir Chris Whitty raised considerations the virus may unfold to the UK on January 29, 2020.
Hugo Keith KC, lead counsel, requested Mr Johnson: “The question is why were you the Prime Minister not being told directly this is a virus, which if it escapes China will result in a pandemic. There is information already that it has a very serious fatality rate and a very serious hospitalisation rate. Why was that? Basic light bulb information not brought to your attention so that you can see the true nature of this emerging crisis.”
Mr Johnson, who missed 5 Cobra conferences on Covid earlier than finally chairing his first one in March 2020, stated: “I can’t give you the exact reason why the detail of the Cobra was not brought to my attention.”
Minutes of the assembly on January 29, 2020 recorded: “The CMO said that the UK planning assumptions were based on the reasonable worst case scenario. There were two scenarios to be considered. The first was that the spread was confined within China, the second was that the spread was not limited to China and there would be a pandemic like scenario, with the UK impacted. The second scenario was plausible but it may take weeks to months.”
