During his time in office, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson questioned two scientists tasked with advising the British government on the possible use of a special hairdryer placed near the nose to combat Covid-19, his former adviser said.
Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s top adviser, said in a written statement released on Wednesday in the context of the public inquiry into the management of the pandemic that Johnson shared a video of a man wearing a special nose hair in March 2020. drier to kill Covid and asked the government’s scientific adviser Patrick Vallance and chief medical officer Chris Whitty what they thought.’
He added that the video is no longer available as it has been removed from the YouTube platform.
In addition, Cummings described Boris Johnson as someone “extremely distracted” and cited his financial problems caused by the finalization of his divorce.
“His current partner wanted to announce their engagement” and the former prime minister “said he wanted to work on his book on Shakespeare, which has not yet been published.”
The release of this statement comes one day after a jaw-dropping trip for the former Prime Minister, during which a public inquiry into his management of the pandemic is underway.
Boris Johnson’s former advisers said on Tuesday they saw him overwhelmed by events during the pandemic and showing little concern for the victims, in a country hit hard by the virus, with more than 230,000 deaths.
According to documents released as part of this public inquiry, Boris Johnson suggested that older people should accept “their fate” and young people should “get on with their lives” during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Former scientific adviser Patrick Vallance wrote in his personal diary that in August 2020 Johnson was “obsessed with older people accepting their fate and letting young people get on with their lives and the economy turned”.
“A rather absurd exchange of ideas,” the scientist wrote.
Vallance also said that some within the Conservative Party “think this is all pathetic and that Covid is just nature’s way of treating the elderly”, and that Johnson said he was “not entirely sure he disagreed” .
In another exchange via a written message with his team, on October 15, 2020, shortly before the second confinement was declared on November 5, Johnson suggested: “We need to let the elderly get infected and protect others.”
“The average age (of those killed by Covid) is 81-82 years for men and 85 years for women. This is beyond life expectancy, so… catch Covid and live longer,” he explained.
This Wednesday, senior official Helen McNamara classified the messages she received from the former Prime Minister as ‘violent and misogynistic’, and Dominic Cummings denounced the ‘toxic’ atmosphere that prevailed during his mandate.
Cummings himself was involved in a media storm for traveling while in custody, but Boris Johnson supported him and kept him in office despite the controversy.
Boris Johnson was forced to resign in July 2022 due to a series of scandals, mainly due to the parties in Downing Street, which breached health regulations to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
This public inquiry aims to assess the management of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has killed around 230,000 people in the UK, one of the highest figures in Europe.
After analyzing how the country prepared for the health crisis, the inquiry, expected to last at least three years and chaired by Judge Heather Hallett, analyzes the governance and political management of the virus outbreak.
Boris Johnson is expected to testify at the end of this year.
Source: DN
