Johnson apologises to victims - as four people removed from room Moments after being sworn in, Boris Johnson begins speaking and tells the inquiry he is "glad". He starts to say "how sorry I am for the pain and the loss" - before he is interrupted by the inquiry chair. "Please sit down," she tells … Continue reading Boris Johnson’s apology to COVID-19 victims
After disruption at the start, Hugo Keith KC, counsel for the inquiry, begins his questioning of Boris Johnson. He is asked about the disclosure of COVID-related documents, WhatsApps, emails and notes. "I've done my best to give everything of any conceivable relevance," Mr Johnson says. Asked if this has always been his position, Mr Johnson … Continue reading ‘I don’t know’ why thousands of WhatsApp messages are missing, Johnson says
Johnson 'can't answer' if ministers' decision-making led to more deaths Boris Johnson is asked whether, with hindsight, he believes the government could have done better in its COVID response. Mr Johnson says the answer is that "with hindsight, it may be easy to see things that we could have done differently" but "at the time, … Continue reading COVID-19: UK govt could’ve done better
Why did the UK suffer such a high rate of excess deaths? Hugo Keith KC says the UK had one of the highest rates of excess deaths in Europe during the pandemic, with almost all other countries in western Europe having a lower level. Boris Johnson disagrees, saying the ONS data he saw put the … Continue reading Why COVID-19 deaths were highest in the UK
'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 … Continue reading Read Boris Johnson’s arguments against early national lockdowns during COVID-19
For the bereaved families attending the hearing and beyond, a lot hangs on the manner of Boris Johnson's apology as well as the fact of it. In the inquiry room he apologised just for their experience of COVID - their "pain, loss and suffering". In a section of his witness statement - which we will … Continue reading Will families accept Johnson’s apology over COVID-19 error?
Nigerian scientists and researchers were not able to win the sum of N36 million offered by the Federal Government as reward for discovering cures for COVID-19 and Lassa Fever, checks have revealed. The prize was announced on February 13, 2020, by then Minister of Science and Technology (now Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology), Dr … Continue reading Nigerian scientists fail to win FG’s N36m prize for COVID-19, Lassa Fever cure
Leaders shared concerns that a lack of confidence in policing could 'spill over into public order issues' - Patel The inquiry's counsel Hugo Keith KC now moves to discuss data released in June 2020. He says it showed there was a "disproportionate imposition of fixed penalty notices on people of black and ethnic minority backgrounds." … Continue reading
Did UK govt ever consider banning travel between England and Scotland? Dame Priti Patel is now being asked a question by a representative of the Scottish COVID Bereaved Group. Claire Mitchell KC asks the former home secretary if there were any discussions about banning travel between Scotland and England or Wales and England. She replies … Continue reading
A by-election will be held in the constituency of an MP who was punished for breaking COVID rules. Margaret Ferrier - who travelled by train despite knowing she had coronavirus in 2020 - says she will not stand in the contest. She lost her parliamentary seat in Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency in Scotland following … Continue reading By-election to be held after COVID rule-breaker MP Margaret Ferrier loses seat
Senior British minister Michael Gove on Sunday described a video showing a party at the ruling Conservative Party's headquarters during a lockdown in 2020 as "terrible," as COVID rule-breaking gatherings continue to hang over the government. The Mirror newspaper revealed the video just days after a parliamentary committee ruled that former Prime Minister Boris Johnson … Continue reading UK Minister Sorry for Leaked COVID-19 Party Video
Fang Bin, who documented the initial Covid outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has been freed from jail after three years, sources told the BBC. Mr Fang is one of several so-called citizen journalists who disappeared after sharing videos of scenes in Wuhan, the epicentre of the pandemic. After disappearing in February 2020, he … Continue reading China COVID-19 whistleblower returns home to Wuhan after jail
China provided the joint experts team for tracing the origin of COVID-19 with all data and materials available at that time and did not hide any cases, samples, test and analysis results, said Shen Hongbing, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, at a news conference on Saturday. Since the outbreak of … Continue reading China agrees to publicize all known COVID-19 tracing data
The mayor of Canada’s largest city has stepped down after acknowledging he had an affair with a former staffer. Toronto Mayor John Tory said at a late Friday night news conference that he developed a relationship with an employee in his office. The 68-year-old was known as a straight-laced, buttoned-down moderate conservative — almost the … Continue reading Toronto mayor resigns after illicit affair in the office, blames it on the pandemic
Shanghai’s education bureau has told schools to hold classes online from Monday as rising numbers of Covid infections hit cities across China. On Saturday the bureau also instructed kindergartens and childcare centres in the city to shut all in-person classes, according to an online statement. Cases have been increasing since China abandoned some of the world’s … Continue reading Shanghai schools starting online classes to control spread of COVID-19
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