UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson skipped five early crisis briefings (Cobra meetings) on the coronavirus in the early days of the pandemic, in part because he was distracted by the island nation's withdrawal from the European Union, a Cabinet shakeup, mass floodings, and a holiday with his fiancée, reports The Sunday Times.
There have been at least 120,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK, according to a New York Times database. As of Sunday afternoon, 16,060 people had died, putting it behind only the U.S., Spain, Italy, and France. Johnson ended up in intensive care with a serious case of the virus before being discharged last Sunday.
Johnson has been criticized for the response to the pandemic, as the UK lagged behind its neighbors in implementing social distancing and other restrictions, and delays in purchasing essential equipment and tests likely allowed the virus to spread fast and undetected.
Opposition Labour Party health spokesman Jon Ashworth said there were "serious questions" to answer on why the meetings were missed in February.
"The whole world could see how serious this was becoming and we know that serious mistakes were made," he said in comments posted on Twitter.
Michael Gove, one of the senior Cabinet ministers leading the response to the pandemic, defended Johnson.
"Most Cobra meetings don't have the prime minister attending them," said Gove, whose cabinet title is chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster. "That is the whole point."
Cobra meetings were "led by the relevant secretary of state in the relevant area," he argued. "The prime minister is aware of all of these decisions and takes some of those decisions. You can take a single fact, wrench it out of context, whip it up in order to create a j'accuse narrative. But that is not fair reporting."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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