Shock, horror! Something surprising happened today at the Covid Inquiry. Thus far, much of what we have heard has been predictable or even mundane. Simon Case made a fool of himself? Stop the presses. The civil service thought No. 10 was a shambles? Halt the front page. Nobody liked Matt Hancock? Quick, get the editor. But the appearance today of Lord Udny-Lister – the artist formerly known as Eddie Lister – brought with it some intriguing revelations.
Unlike Cummings or Helen MacNamara, Lister does not have an obvious axe to grind. Since quitting as Boris Johnson’s chief strategic adviser, the onetime City Hall aide has largely kept his own counsel and refrained from criticism in the press. But today in his witness statement, he admitted that Johnson said he would rather ‘let the bodies pile high’ than impose another coronavirus lockdown, two years after the former UK prime minister dismissed the allegation as ‘total rubbish’. He said:
In September 2020, the R number was rising. A circuit breaker was proposed in response to this increase and the health secretary was pushing hard for this to take place. However, the opposition to any form of lockdown was intense. I recall the PM saying in September 2020 that he would rather “let the bodies pile high” than impose another lockdown.
Lister also revealed that Johnson had offered to be injected with coronavirus on television to ‘demonstrate to the public that it did not pose a threat’ in early 2020. However, he could not confirm the exact date the offer was made, telling the inquiry: ‘It was a time when Covid was not seen as being the serious disease it subsequently became. It was a moment in time – I think it was an unfortunate comment.’ You can say that again…
Today’s evidence session comes three few weeks before Johnson is due to give evidence himself at the beginning of December. If even his former allies are now abandoning him, it ought to be an interesting one…
Comments