News

Telegraph exclusive prompts questions over leadership

The Telegraph bagged an exclusive which seemed to raise more questions than it answered yesterday.

In a nod to the 2016 referendum campaign they reported the Prime Minister has triumphantly declared he is “taking back control” of the government’s response to coronavirus.

It prompted questions over who has been in charge until now.

PM’s response

The PM has been criticised for his response to the virus which has seen the UK suffer more fatalities than anywhere else in Europe.

A damning report released in April found Johnson had missed several Cobra meetings on coronavirus as the outbreak in China worsened and Covid-19 spread around the world.

He has been singled out for contributing to a “lost” five weeks from January 24 which allowed Britain to “sleepwalk into disaster”.

The PM was also accused ignored calls to order protective gear and scientists’ warnings over the severity of the outbreak. 

Cummingsgate

The British public vented further frustration when Johnson backed his senior aide Dominic Cummings after he flouted lockdown rules.

Addressing the public Boris Johnson said Mr Cummings had “acted responsibly, legally and with integrity”, a view which appears to be completely out of step with the rest of the public.

Even former PM Theresa May was forced to admit that she “can well understand the anger of those who have been abiding by the spirit of the guidance”.

Related: Don’t bother filming the next Black Mirror – we are already living it

Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Published by