Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has launched a scathing attack on the official Covid-19 inquiry report, dismissing its findings as "muddled" and "hopelessly incoherent" despite the document revealing that government failures may have contributed to approximately 23,000 preventable deaths during the pandemic's first wave.
Inquiry reveals chaotic government response
The damning report, led by Baroness Heather Hallett, concluded that Mr Johnson presided over a "toxic and chaotic" Downing Street culture that severely hampered the UK's ability to respond effectively to the emerging Covid-19 threat in early 2020. The inquiry found that the former prime minister's overly optimistic outlook during the critical early months prevented necessary action being taken sooner.
According to the inquiry's modelling, implementing lockdown measures just one week earlier - on March 16 instead of March 23 - could have reduced deaths in the first wave by 48%, equating to approximately 23,000 fewer fatalities in England alone. The report stated that while the first and second lockdowns weren't inevitable, the government had ultimately been left with no alternative after failing to implement crucial measures like social distancing and household quarantine in time.
Johnson's defiant response
In a remarkable display of defiance, Mr Johnson took to social media platform X and his Daily Mail column to condemn the inquiry he himself established. He described the £200 million investigation as fundamentally flawed, claiming it failed to address what he called the "two big questions" about Covid-19: the virus's origins and whether lockdowns were ultimately worthwhile.
"Some judge has just spent the thick end of £200 million on an inquiry, and what is the upshot?" Johnson wrote. "She seems, if anything, to want more lockdowns. She seems to have laid into the previous Tory government for not locking down hard enough or fast enough - just when the rest of the world has been thinking that lockdowns were probably wildly overdone."
The former prime minister argued that the inquiry's conclusions were contradictory, pointing out that he had advised people to self-isolate with symptoms, work from home and avoid non-essential contact a week before the first formal lockdown was imposed.
Mixed political reactions
While Johnson remained unapologetic, former cabinet minister Lord Michael Gove offered a contrasting response by issuing a formal apology. "I want to, on behalf of the government and the Conservative party, to apologise for mistakes that were made during that period," Gove told BBC Radio 4's Today programme, though he added that governing during a crisis couldn't be conducted "in the manner of a Jane Austen novel."
The inquiry report concluded that not imposing any lockdown when it became apparent there was no alternative would have "led to an unacceptable loss of life." Despite his criticism, Johnson acknowledged the suffering caused by the pandemic, stating: "I remain full of regret for the things the government I led got wrong and full of sympathy for all those who suffered - whether from the disease or from the steps we took to protect the population."
In a particularly striking comment, Johnson suggested the report should be "filed vertically" - effectively shredded - alongside Donald Trump's new Ukraine plan, declaring "in the name of freedom" both documents should be discarded.