Boris johnson accused of resisting second lockdown as people dying were ‘all over 80’

This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement. Mr Cummings shared WhatsApp

messages sent by the Prime Minister which show his resistance in wanting to impose tougher Covid restrictions The former chief adviser to the Prime Minister shared WhatsApp messages with the

BBC in which he said he longer believed in “all this NHS overwhelmed stuff” and was reluctant to tighten restrictions as cases rose in Autumn. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: LET US KNOW WHAT YOU

THINK ABOUT THIS STORY AND BE PART OF THE DEBATE IN OUR COMMENTS SECTION BELOW WHAT DID DOMINIC CUMMINGS SAY? Mr Cummings shared WhatsApp messages sent by Mr Johnson with the BBC which show

his resistance in wanting to impose tougher restrictions, despite soaring coronavirus cases last year. The political adviser claimed Mr Johnson had wanted to allow coronavirus to “wash

through the country” rather than destroy the economy. He also alleged that the Prime Minister was too beholden to lockdown-opposing Tories and elements of the media which convinced him the

first lockdown was a mistake. In his first broadcast interview, Mr Cummings accused the Prime Minister of putting “his own political interests ahead of people’s lives”. The messages, which

appear to have been sent by the Prime Minister to aides on 15 October, read: “I must say I have been slightly rocked by some of the data on covid fatalities. “The median age is 82 – 81 for

men 85 for women. That is above life expectancy. So get COVID and live longer. “Hardly anyone under 60 goes into hospital (4 per cent ) and of those virtually all survive. And I no longer

buy all this nhs overwhelmed stuff. Folks I think we may need to recalibrate. “There are max 3 m in this country aged over 80. It shows we don’t go for nation wide lockdown.” Speaking in his

first broadcast interview, the political aide said that Mr Johnson’s attitude at the time flitted between claims that “it’s all nonsense and lockdowns don’t work anyway” and worrying about

killing the economy “just because of people dying over 80”. After coronavirus cases started rising rapidly again last autumn, the government debated what measures were needed to control the

spread. Mr Cummings told BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg that he, the UK chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance and England's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty

had all pushed for tougher restrictions to be put in place from mid-September. However, a second lockdown was not announced for England until 31 October, with the new measures taking effect

on 5 November. It was said that a four-week lockdown was needed to protect the NHS amid fears that deaths could reach “several thousand a day” unless “tough action” was taken. The former

aide also accused Mr Johnson of being heavily influenced by the media in his decisions and referred to the Telegraph, which previously employed him as a journalist, as his “real boss”. WHAT

HAS DOWNING STREET SAID? In response to the claims, Downing Street has said the Prime Minister took all the “necessary action to protect lives and livelihoods” throughout the pandemic, with

every decision being guided by scientific advice. A Number 10 spokeswoman responded: “Since the start of the pandemic, the Prime Minister has taken the necessary action to protect lives and

livelihoods, guided by the best scientific advice. “The government he leads has delivered the fastest vaccination rollout in Europe, saved millions of jobs through the furlough scheme and

prevented the NHS from being overwhelmed through three national lockdowns. “The government is entirely focused on emerging cautiously from the pandemic and building back better.”

Conservative MP Peter Bone has dismissed Mr Cummings’s allegations, saying the former aide was driven by revenge and had failed to prove a series of explosive claims he made about the inner

workings of No 10 before parliamentary committees in recent months. WHEN WILL THE INTERVIEW AIR? Dominic Cummings: The Interview will air on BBC Two at 7pm on Tuesday (21 July). A MESSAGE

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