Vladimir McTavish: Main Covid Inquiry lesson – never invite Boris Johnson back
I was amazed to discover this week that the UK Covid Inquiry is still going on. I might be mistaken, but it seems to have lasted longer than the pandemic itself.
We are still calculating the cost to the country and to the economy, not to mention the human cost of the pandemic, but it is estimated to be billions.
However, I’m reckoning the inquiry will not have come cheap. I know a couple of stage technicians and camera operators who made steady money from it over the last few years.
While these official inquiries are obviously necessary, I’m not sure how much they actually achieve. And do they really have to drag on so long?
We all remember the public outcry over the long-delayed delivery of the Edinburgh Tram network, not to mention the eye-watering cost of the project going vastly over budget.
But I’m guessing many will have forgotten the inquiry into the tram fiasco. It cost over £13 million and took nine years to complete.
Anyway, back to the Covid inquiry. I think it is very important that we hear impact statements from victims, families of the bereaved and from the professionals working on the front line. It is essential that the pubic hear from medical experts about how future tragedies could be averted.
Yet what is the point in interviewing Boris Johnson? This is someone who consistently lied to the public throughout the entire course of Covid. Did they really think he was suddenly going to start telling the truth now, five years after the fact?
Let’s not forget it was was Johnson’s blustering ineptitude and indecision that led to England locking down far too late in March 2020. His desperation to re-open businesses far too quickly doubtless added to the casualty toll.
His government, remember, launched “eat out to help out”, which involved the then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak handing out millions of ten-pound meal vouchers, encouraging people to pack into busy pubs and restaurants.
Instead of its intended kickstart to the economy, this merely served to provide a kickstart to the second wave of the pandemic
This is a man who, when faced with the possibility of a second lockdown said he would rather “let the bodies pile up” than shut down shops and pubs.
And, of course, we all know that this was a prime minister who partied throughout lockdown, breaking laws he himself had imposed and then lied to the public about it. So what would he have to add to a public inquiry?
As it turned out, it was all very predictable. He turned up, smirking, looked bored, sighed a lot, lost his notes several times and mumbled his normal jumbled-up answers to questions. All of which amounted to saying he couldn’t really have done anything different than what he did at the time. Or words to that effect. Ah, well, I suppose it’s good to have that down on the public record.
Once the Covid Inquiry is finally completed, it will publish a report running to hundreds of pages, which will make numerous recommendations.
They only need make one recommendation. Make sure we never have another self-serving clown like Boris Johnson in charge of the country.