LONDON: Former British prime minister Boris Johnson’s approach to dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic was “mad and dangerous” and his constant indecision made it “impossible” to tackle the virus, the government’s top civil servant told officials.
The exchanges between Simon Case, the government’s most senior official, and officials in which he also described Britain’s response in 2020 as a “terrible, tragic joke”, were shown on Monday to the inquiry into how the government handled the worst health crisis in almost a century.
In the autumn of 2020 when the government was discussing how to suppress the virus, Case said of Johnson: “He cannot lead and we cannot support him under these circumstances. The team captain cannot change the call on the big plays every day.” He then wrote in capital letters: “IT HAS TO STOP”.
Months earlier when the government was reopening after the first lockdown, Case said Johnson wanted to let the virus “rip” and compared Johnson’s approach to the way US president Donald Trump and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who were known for dismissing the threat of Covid, were handling the crisis.
“This is in danger of becoming Trump/Bolsonaro level mad and dangerous,” Case told other colleagues. A spokesman for Johnson, who will appear as a witness in the inquiry in the future, declined to comment.