Over at the Covid inquiry this morning they were arguing over whether the UK had the second highest death rate in Europe or not. Covid lawyer Hugo Keith KC asserted “the UK had one of the highest rates of excess deaths in Europe”. World Health Organisation data for the proportional cumulative excess death count for every country in Europe tells a different story. Boris was right to defend his record on Covid compared to other European countries:
Boris bristled at the claim saying he had seen Office of National Statistics data that suggested otherwise. The usually precise KC perhaps realising he had lost his footing backtracked a minute later to claim he was only talking about Western Europe.
Even revising the assertion to cherry pick “Western Europe“, the above data set still doesn’t produce the outcome that Hugo Keith apparently wanted to portray here. The UK is roughly in the middle of the pack, and against Europe as a whole, in the lower ranks. Does the KC have an agenda?
UPDATE: Watch Tom Harwood make the same point.
In between having to watch protestors get escorted out of the room Boris has been defending his leadership during the pandemic at the Covid Inquiry. Hugo Keith KC asked if the constant mutual slaggings off over WhatsApp showed that “friction in government was causing a problem?“. Boris hit back, arguing that robust communication is “creatively useful” and that if Thatcher’s top team had WhatsApp their messages would have been “pretty fruity“. Dominic Cummings would have got a run for his money…
The painfully slow and costly Covid-19 public inquiry is cross-examining Reality TV star Matt Hancock today, who’s facing some robust questioning from Hugo Keith KC. Hancock is now claiming that he tried to convince Boris on the 13th March to lock down. Keith pointed out that Hancock’s own book states itself to be “meticulously pieced together” from all the evidence and “records all the relevant, important events“, yet includes “no reference” to the supposed lockdown conversation on the 13th March, alongside no other record of it taking place. Hancock’s defence: “I can remember it”…
Cummings has hit back, accusing Hancock of “flat out lying” because “he was still pushing Plan A herd immunity 13-15th“. Cummings says he kept Hancock out of a meeting on the 14th “bullsh*tting everybody about herd immunity” and arguing against a change of plan. Recollections will presumably continue to vary over Hancock’s two days of evidence…
Sajid Javid had some fun at the Covid inquiry when he was asked by lawyer Joanne Cecil whether, when it came to opening up, more “diversity” would have “potentially added something“. Javid took his time with his response, saying “If there was more diversity in government, it’s a good thing” and helpfully pointing out it applies to a fair few sectors: “Amongst barristers I think about 80% come from Oxbridge, so it’s probably not too different in many other professions”. One look at them will confirm that hunch…
Inquiry chairman Baroness Heather Hallett had a good chuckle at that and remarked: “I think you’ll find the figures are rather different today“, to which Javid said “I hope so“. It was a heart-warming moment to see two white women agree with Sajid, born to a British Pakistani family, that diversity had probably improved among barristers. Guido’s not convinced though. It looks like the last proper study done confirms 78% of barristers still come from Oxbridge, which is the highest proportion in the professional sector. Glass houses…
Ade Adeyemi, a civil servant in the Department of Health and Social Care, used his witness statement on 6th October to the Covid Inquiry to attack the government’s “institutional and structural racism”, that caused the “disproportionate rates” of deaths among ethnic minority people. He also blasted the government for the “appalling lack of diversity” in NHS leadership. He failed to mentioned he’s an ardent Labour Party activist.
Ade arguably broke civil service rules to campaign for Labour during the Uxbridge by-election, posting videos of himself delivering Labour leaflets attacking the ‘Conservative Government’. Explains why he was so quick to attack the government at the Covid Inquiry.
Ade was an executive board member of the Fabian Society for three years, the venerable think tank goal is incremental socialism. He also held a leadership workshop for the Labour Party’s Bernie Grant Programme. Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting clearly acknowledged his valiant work for the party, signing a copy of his book to Ade thanking him for all his “support over the many years“.
Yet another example of a civil servant with a left-wing agenda…
Humza Yousaf’s WhatsApp woes continue today as he’s forced to apologise for the SNP’s “shortcomings” on WhatsApp messages. The SNP have been accused of deleting them on an “industrial scale” and Yousaf now admits when the Covid Inquiry asked for messages last year they should have been sent over instead of deleted. Devolved leaders have a habit of appearing trigger-happy when it comes to deleting messages…
Yousaf’s previous strategy was to claim messages had only been requested in September this year, when in fact they were asked for in 2022. He’s now been forced to admit “the Scottish Government clearly interpreted the requests from the Inquiry in a way that was too narrow”. The UK Covid Inquiry has gone so far as to order the Scottish government to publish a timeline of their requests for messages. So it’s clear who’s been telling porkies…
