MEZIESBLOG

‘Strong arguments’ against going into lockdown ‘too early’ in March 2020

Boris Johnson says the issue of the timing of national lockdowns was “clearly something that we considered very hard at the time”.

He adds there were “strong arguments against going too early into lockdown”, especially when it came to the first lockdown called in March 2020.

Mr Johnson says there were two arguments against early action – the issue of “behavioural fatigue” and “the risk of bounce back”.

“They were made powerfully and they certainly had a big effect on me.”

The former prime minister says it was an “easy decision to say that we should go ahead” with a vaccine roll-out as soon as they were approved.

“But when it came to the balance of needing to protect the public and protect the NHS and lockdowns it was incredibly difficult.”

Baroness Hallett interrupts again to speak to the public gallery, asking them to make sure their behaviour is “appropriate”.

Back to the inquiry, Hugo Keith KC asks if decisions for the likes of lockdown were made by Mr Johnson and affirmed by the cabinet later – or if they were “entirely open-endedly made my cabinet”.

Mr Johnson says “I think it was both”.

“A huge number of decisions because they had to be taken so fast were funnelled up to me, but there were also a large number of decisions… that were the subject of exhaustive cabinet discussion.”