PM Boris Johnson’s former advisor Dominic Cummings has revealed the pile of secrets and information he was believed to be sitting on for many months. Taking almost an entire day, Cummings listed a detailed list of shortcomings according to his assessment. Here are some highlights of Dominic Cummings' most explosive claims:
- “Tens of thousands of people" died unnecessarily because ministers, officials and advisers fell "disastrously short" of the standards the public expects
- Lots of key people "were literally skiing" when the government should have been "on a war footing" in February 2020, he said
- According to Cummings, Matt Hancock "should have been fired for at least 15 to 20 things" and for "lying" in the "cabinet room" about the country's preparedness to deal with the pandemic
- Cummings said "lions led by donkeys"
- He claimed Boris Johnson felt that the virus was a "scare story", and similar to "the new swine flu"
- He suggested that the UK lost on "not hitting the panic button earlier"
- According to him, PM's girlfriend "going completely crackers" over stories in the press about her dog
- He said people were sent back into care homes without testing
- Cummings claimed that the PM rejected the recommendation last September that there should be the second lockdown in England
- He appreciated Rishi Sunak did a "fantastic job" with the furlough scheme
- Cummings mentioned that “Boris Johnson is not fit to lead the country through the pandemic”.
In response to this explosive press conference, a spokesman for Matt Hancock has just issued a statement in response to Dominic Cumming's appearance:
“At all times throughout this pandemic, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and everyone in the Department for Health and Social Care has worked incredibly hard in unprecedented circumstances to protect the NHS and save lives. We absolutely reject Mr Cummings's claims about the health secretary. The health secretary will continue to work closely with the prime minister to deliver the vaccine rollout, tackle the risks posed by variants and support the NHS and social care sector to recover from this pandemic.”
