Johnson Wanted Tighter Covid Rules, Inquiry Hears

Boris Johnson pushed for a much "ruthless, authoritarian approach" towards group who refused to self-isolate during nan pandemic, according to documents seen by nan Covid inquiry.

The small heart of argumentation makers was to favour "punitive measures" complete financial support, wrote Lord Patrick Vallance who said to nan PM passim nan situation and appeared alongside him connected TV briefings.

Diary entries written during that clip by Lord Vallance, past nan UK's main technological adviser, revealed officials "always want[ed] to spell for stick, not carrot".

Lord Vallance has said his diary entries were informal individual reflections and "late nighttime musings", ne'er intended for publication.

He was giving grounds to nan sixth portion of nan Covid inquiry, which is investigating test, trace and quarantine policies.

During 90 minutes of questioning, he was shown a bid of entries from his evening diaries from nan first twelvemonth of nan pandemic.

On 12 August 2020, he wrote astir a gathering pinch nan premier curate and his elder aides, including past main advisor Dominic Cummings and furniture caput Simon Case.

"Instinct of this unit is to spell for much enforcement and punitive measures," he wrote.

"We suggested much carrot and incentives [were] required to make group return a test, self-isolate etc, but they ever want to spell for instrumentality not carrot."

Asked who he was referring to successful that entry, Lord Vallance said it would person been nan "decision-makers for policy".

In different entry, connected 25 September 2020, arsenic Covid cases were rising erstwhile again, he quoted Boris Johnson arsenic saying: "We request a batch much punishments and a batch much closing down".

And successful a further introduction connected 7 January 2021, conscionable aft nan commencement of nan 3rd nationwide lockdown, he wrote: "PM says: 'We haven't been ruthless enough. We request to unit much isolation. I favour a much authoritarian approach.'"

He added: "Rather precocious successful nan day, nan PM isn't knowing that incentives (or removal of disincentives) request to beryllium successful spot to thief people."

On 28 September 2020, ministers introduced a ineligible work for those who had tested affirmative for Covid aliases were contacted by nan test-and-trace work to self-isolate successful England. It was announced that fines of betwixt £1,000 and £10,000 would beryllium imposed connected repetition offenders.

Test-and-trace support payments of £500 were besides offered for those connected little incomes.

Sir Patrick said it was "important to remember" nan intent of wide testing was to place perchance infectious individuals who could self-isolate and "if isolation isn't happening, past testing isn't really doing what it's expected to beryllium doing".

When nan caller rules were introduced, Boris Johnson said nan nationalist needed to do "all it could to power nan dispersed of nan virus" and forestall nan astir susceptible from becoming infected.

Earlier, Matt Hancock told nan enquiry it was "crucial" nan UK should clasp its expertise to quickly scale-up wide testing for a caller illness successful immoderate early pandemic.

The erstwhile wellness caput said he was concerned nan testing strategy group up successful 2020 was now being dismantled, making it overmuch harder to respond.

"The captious point is that we perfectly must, arsenic a nation, beryllium fresh to radically grow capacity erstwhile a trial is developed," he said. "We were not past time."

Mr Hancock was asked about a missive he was sent, connected 14 April 2020, by 2 Nobel prize winning scientists, Sir Paul Nurse and Sir Peter Ratcliffe, urging that each healthcare workers beryllium offered regular tests for nan virus.

In grounds past week, Prof Nurse said his missive had been "ignored" by nan caput of authorities for 3 months, earlier he received an "anodyne response" from different civilian servant.

Regular testing of attraction location workers didn't commencement until nan summertime of 2020 successful England, while NHS unit and different societal attraction workers were not offered play tests until November of that year.

Mr Hancock said he had not seen nan missive personally and by that point, nan authorities was already putting successful spot policies to tackle nan transmission of nan microorganism by group without clear Covid symptoms.

"The statement that is implied is that, somehow, personification eminent who won a Nobel Prize knew thing and we ignored it. It's conscionable not true. It's not what happened," he said.