n n n ‘.concat(e.i18n.t(“search.voice.recognition_retry”),’n
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in the British Covid-19 inquiry, reportedly said he “certainly made mistakes” in his handling of the pandemic.
But according to The Times, the British leader during the coronavirus outbreak will argue that decisions he took, including ordering three lockdowns in England, ended up saving “tens if not hundreds of thousands of lives”.
He is expected to say that without such restrictions, thousands more people would have had “miserable and unnecessary deaths, some of them in hospital car parks and corridors” due to the health service becoming overwhelmed by the virus.
Johnson is due to appear next week before the inquest, which he organised while still in Downing Street.
Aides to the former Conservative Party leader said the journalistic information came from them.
A spokesperson said: “Boris Johnson will take part in Covid research next week and looks forward to contributing to the inquiry with his work. “
The Times said Mr Johnson’s written statement, which is likely to be published after his appearance before the public inquiry, is set to barely mention his former senior aide Dominic Cummings.
Acting as de facto chief of staff in Downing Street until the end of 2020, Cummings has been an outspoken critic of Johnson since their acrimonious split.
Johnson is said to back former fitness secretary Matt Hancock, who has been criticised by many of the inquest’s witnesses, saying he did a “good job in very difficult circumstances”.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who served as chancellor during the pandemic and whose resignation in July 2022 helped bring about Johnson’s demise, is expected to be largely absent from the former prime minister’s written testimony, according to the newspaper.
The Times said it plans to protect Mr. Eat’s Out To Help Out program. Sunak, a government-backed reduction provision designed for the hospitality sector after the first lockdown.
Johnson was quoted as saying that the proposal had been “duly discussed” with England’s chief medical officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, and former senior clinical adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, and they said they were not aware of it until it was announced.
Johnson will most likely be questioned over allegations that his Operation 10 was dysfunctional, a claim made this week through former chancellor and fitness secretary Sajid Javid in the inquiry.
Javid said he felt “key decisions were being made through Mr Javid Cummings and the Prime Minister”, something the veteran politician said he had never noticed before under other prime ministers.
It comes as Mr Hancock, in written evidence to the inquiry published on Friday, said Mr Johnson had apologised for hiring Mr Cummings to work in Downing Street.
He said that “the then-prime minister has apologised to me for appointing his chief adviser and for the damage he did to the response to Covid-19”.
It’s unclear exactly when the so-called apology was issued.
It is also very likely that Mr Johnson will be asked about the lockdown-breaking parties that took place in Downing Street.
Dubbed the partygate scandal, it helped lead to Mr Johnson’s exit from high office last year and eventual decision in June, following a probe by law makers into whether he misled Parliament over the gatherings, to quit as an MP.
Sunak is expected to testify in person before Christmas, and chairwoman Baroness Hallett recently reviewed UK decision-making in the second phase of her inquiry.