Yahoo News Boris Johnson ‘making same mistakes now’ that led to tens of thousands of unnecessary COVID deaths
Dominic Cummings has suggested Boris Johnson is repeating mistakes that led to tens of thousands of people dying from COVID-19.
As part of his evidence about the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, Cummings said many of the faults that led to unnecessary deaths were still in place, including poor border controls.
He said: “Tens of thousands of people died who didn’t need to die.”
The prime minister's former aide also pushed for an immediate inquiry, adding: “There’s absolutely no excuse for delaying that.
“A lot of the reasons for why that happened are still in place.”
Cummings, who left Downing Street in November last year after a fallout with Johnson, said the PM was cross with him for what he regards as “pushing him into the first lockdown”.
He added: “His argument was I shouldn’t have done the first lockdown and I’m not going to make the same mistake again.”
But Cummings did admit he regretted not doing more to get the PM to take further “serious action” on tackling the spread of coronavirus.
He said: "I should have gambled on holding a gun to his head essentially.”
SNP Carol Monaghan MP asked if he was surprised by the government’s delays in putting India on the red list and the confusion over the traffic light system.
Cummings added: “No, not surprised at all. Completely in character with Number 10.”
“I’m afraid it is deja vu all over again.
The COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK group pushed for an urgent inquiry following Cummings’ testimony.
It said: “The evidence from Cummings is clear, that the government’s combination of grotesque chaos and uncaring flippancy is directly responsible for many of our loved ones not being with us today - and the refusal to have an urgent statutory inquiry risks others joining them.”
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Cummings earlier claimed health secretary Matt Hancock repeatedly lied during the coronavirus pandemic and should have been sacked.
In a blistering personal attack, Cummings accused Hancock of lying to his cabinet colleagues and said he should have been fired for "at least 15 to 20 things".
Cummings accepted some responsibility for the government's failures, admitting he “did not follow up” and “push” on pandemic preparations at the end of January 2020.
But he accused the PM of failing to take COVID-19 seriously, dismissing it as no worse than swine flu, and of going on holiday for two weeks as the virus took hold in Europe.
Watch: Dominic Cummings says Matt Hancock should have been fired for lying
