Johnson denies that his actions before the Covid have caused "thousands of victims" unnecessary

The “premier” Boris Johnson has denied the allegations of his former strategist Dominic Cummings, who on Wednesday accused him before a parliamentary committee of having caused “tens of thousands of unnecessary victims” due to his failed strategy against the coronavirus and his resistance to ordering confinements.

“We have made a number of incredibly difficult decisions and none have been taken lightly,” Johnson said during a visit to a hospital in Essex.

When asked if his inaction caused tens of thousands of deaths, the “premier” dryly replied: “I think that has not been the case.”. “The confinements have been a very painful and traumatic thing, against the background of the epidemic,” added the conservative leader, who said he had acted at all times “in light of scientific data.”.

During his seven-hour appearance in Westminster, Cummings nevertheless accused him of initially seeking “herd immunity” before taking the plunge and resisting a new lockdown in September to avoid a second wave.

The former strategist and head of Brexit – who violated the first confinement and had to leave in November through the back door of Downing Street – blamed Johnson for having considered the coronavirus as “an alarmist story like bird flu” and for changing his mind. opinion “ten times a day”. “The Government failed when we needed it most,” added Cummings, who called for the immediate opening of an investigation into the strategy for the pandemic that has claimed more than 128,000 deaths in the United Kingdom.

Cummings said that Johnson is “unfit” for the post of prime minister, in light of his erratic response to Covid, compared to the chaos that ensued “with the arrival of the aliens in the movie Independence Day”.. The former advisor also personalized the attacks on Health Secretary Matt Hancock, whom he repeatedly called a “liar” and whose dismissal he came to ask for on several occasions.

Hancock defended himself in person on Thursday during an appearance in Parliament, saying he has been “frank and direct” with the British.. “We encountered unprecedented difficulties that we had to overcome by working together and in a positive spirit of collaboration,” he stressed, placing the final emphasis on the success of the vaccination campaign, with 60 million doses administered and more than 22 million Britons. double vaccinated against Covid.