Covid Inquiry

The successful vaccination programme was run by someone outside government (wife of our MP). This is why it was successful.

M0nica

Iam64 you do not need to watch daytime tv. The BBC News site has up to date reports with live excerpts.

The very comprehensive Covid Inquiry site has everything on it! Transcripts, videos, timetables etc.

I posted the link earlier.

Dominic Cummings is a poor excuse for a man.

He is throwing everyone under the bus and trying to save his own neck.

I posted upthread that the Government appears to have been drowning under the enormity of Covid and all it entailed.

ronib

I would find it impossible to communicate with Dominic Cummings at any level. How did he get appointed to a government position in the first place? What does he do now?
With millions of deaths worldwide from COVID, I agree that BJ wasn’t best suited to the task but it was a tough call for all world leaders. I thought BJ did take action to protect the elderly even though at first, he was reluctant to do so.

Here’s the background ronib. Cummings was a political appointment, ie hired by the Tory party, who originally worked as a special advisor to Michael Gove.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/special-advisers

Thanks Monica,mi’d bern listening to 5 live as I pottered round tidying up and was intrigued enough to put the tv on as I really needed to rest up.

Iam64 you do not need to watch daytime tv. The BBC News site has up to date reports with live excerpts.

It's quite difficult to admit you were wrong so I don't really blame people for that.
I would also like a public discussion about the lockdowns that looks at the cost on children for one group, but we will not get that yet, maybe in a decade or so.
I think it will be almost impossible to 'enforce' a lockdown in the future.

I don’t usually watch day time tv. I wasn’t well yesterday, got cozy on the sofa and decided to watch ten minutes of Dominic Cummings. I confess - two hours passed with me watching.

The stand out for me was the conclusion that watching Cummings simply confirmed my belief that Johnson wasn’t fit to be prime minister. He appointed this cold hearted, self promoting narcissist and stood by him during the Barnard Castle horror.

I’m not qualified to diagnose either maddyone, but neuro diverse occurred to me as well. Then I reflected and concluded anyone as intelligent as Cummings clearly is, is responsible for their own behaviour. Throughout his testimony he blamed everyone and denied any problems were of his own making. He denied misogyny despite clear evidence.

I did enjiy the forensic kc 😏

I would find it impossible to communicate with Dominic Cummings at any level. How did he get appointed to a government position in the first place? What does he do now?
With millions of deaths worldwide from COVID, I agree that BJ wasn’t best suited to the task but it was a tough call for all world leaders. I thought BJ did take action to protect the elderly even though at first, he was reluctant to do so.

Marydoll

*Dickens*, thank you for responding to my post. You have summed it up very well.
I think I may have naively assumed some eyes would now have been opened to Johnstone's failings. I obviously have underestimated the numbers on GN, who still support him.

Another poster mentioned corporate manslaughter, that is exactly what my husband and I were discussing last night.

I don’t entirely agree with Dickens’ post, because the evidence is that Johnson’s political star has waned. If you look at the surveys carried out by the pollsters there is a steady and continuing decline in his popularity. I suspect that people who were great supporters of his are seeing the facts now, but they don’t want to either publicly admit that, or publicly defend him.

Sadly, Grandmabatty, I am not horrified. It is truly horrifying, but I feel my senses have been blunted by the knowledge we already have of how the people elected to provide protection - surely the first and most major job of government - thought of us and behaved towards those they serve.

I am glad that it is a legal enquiry rather than one by the right wing media for once. Justice must be served and views towards the elderly, the less able and disentitled exposed for what they were.

M0nica your phrase except, of course, so many people do is the truism that really does strike horror. The thought that we could put the inheritors of this creed back in a position to have power over us really does strike fear into my heart.

All I see from the enquiry is lots of people earning obscene amounts of money telling us something we all knew. 😡

A projection was displayed on Barnard Castle last night showing the the amount of people who died with covid.

Johnson is obviously a disgrace and should never have been PM. If the Lib Dems hadn't ratted on us voters and joined the Tory coalition we would never have had the miserable trail of Tory PMs which led to Brexit, the Buffoon and beyond. I don't trust the Lib Dems not to do it again.

I'm glad I started this thread. I, too, was a little surprised it didn't have more traction Marydoll but Dickens has explained it very clearly. I don't often post under news and politics because I'm not robust enough! However, the inquiry is so important to us all.

Dickens, thank you for responding to my post. You have summed it up very well.
I think I may have naively assumed some eyes would now have been opened to Johnstone's failings. I obviously have underestimated the numbers on GN, who still support him.

Another poster mentioned corporate manslaughter, that is exactly what my husband and I were discussing last night.

TBH I think it is no more or less what many knew or suspected. There doesn’t seem to be a single government minister who is capable, and it still seems to be the case.

But what I find so appalling, is that the incompetence, corruption and sheer self regard is going unpunished regardless of what suffering and mess to the country they caused.

I havent come on, or watched barely any of it, because it is all what I have come to expect of any main party.

Arrogance, lies, manipulation, the list goes on.

The reason why I dont vote for all of them.
But people will and continue to do so. Continous switching amongst the bigger parties, in hope, from one to another, as has been done for 60 years or more.

Allsorts

I can't get over what an absolutely horrible man Cummings is, his foul mouthed rants, how did he get the job in the first place, he dislikes everyone, has no social skills, no redeeming qualities, seems deranged. Goodness knows how his family functions with him at the helm.Enquiry waste of time entirely predictable and nothing will alter, monkeys would have done a better job.

Well he got the job because he got Brexit through. He then was responsible for Johnson becoming PM. So I guess he's responsible for the lot of chaos. The fact that he's a bit sweary is the least if it.

Well he got his wish didn't he. At one time in 2020 the deaths announced each lunchtime were over 1000 per day
Including my DFiL who died alone, in hospital, his last words begging to come home.

Meanwhile in NZ, where my DS lives, there were a handful of covid fatalities. Jacinda Adhern's government seemed to care about their people

My DH died during the pandemic but at least we managed to rescue him from hospital and I kept him safe from covid at home.

Fighting like rats in a sack is what springs to mind. All these people who were directly responsible for the country's health, safety and wellbeing. Blaming each other and finger pointing, horrible to watch. A CEO/Boards would be up on charges of Corporate Manslaughter, so why aren't these people? Its sickening it really is. Oh, and then they partied!

Marydoll

I am surprised at how few posts there are on this thread. I expected it to be as busy as the politics threads usually are.
Why would this be?

I am genuinely curious, not being ingenious.

There are a number of people who support Johnson - emphatically - and these revelations will not dampen it. On the contrary, some will see the enquiry as part of the "witch hunt" they believe has been conducted against him (ignoring the fact that other countries are also conducting their own enquiries).

Judging by past comments during the height of the crisis - there are also those that agree with his 'philosophical' view... that "old people" should, basically, have accepted their fate to allow the younger demographic to get on with their lives - and keep the economy going.

Then there are the anti-vaxxers who believed their supposedly healthy immune systems would deal with the virus, and if it didn't, well, tough-luck really... and I doubt they're interested in the enquiry unless it investigates the lockdowns as a form of government-control, which is basically what they believed the lockdowns were all about.

On the other hand there was the successful vaccination programme - so in many Johnson-admirers' eyes - he was / is vindicated.

What I'm trying to say is that I don't think you realise just how popular the man was, and still is among the general public, and here, on GN. So there won't be any numbers of posters coming on this thread with a mea-culpa.

Although we, who are critical of Johnson, are frequently denounced as "haters" having a sort of pile-on on "Boris" - we are, I believe, a minority - which is why this topic will probably not get the count you expect.

I don't think that there's any way to whitewash the utter disregard that the government had for the wellbeing of the people of this country. It's quite obvious that they only had economics at the heart of their agenda.
The whole fiasco is beyond disgusting.
People died because of their incompetence

Probably, but he isn’t, he’s just the current focus for those who want to keep the heat off the star performers. His five minutes of fame have passed long ago, and he knows it.

Galaxy

Also I suspect that any enquiries into covid will only skim the surface. I don't think we will have any perspective on the pandemic for years

How do you think the inquiry will only skim the surface, Galaxy?.

Do you think that there are further horrors which will never be disclosed?

🤔 well, I think he thought he was the main player!