18 h. ago The shameful attacks on the Covid inquiry prove it: the right is lost in anti

There is nothing wrong with questioning the mighty cost of the lockdowns, but we can’t let hardline libertarians rewrite Britain’s pandemic historyThat number will stay fixed for ever in public memory: 23,000 people died because Boris Johnson resisted locking the country down in time. As Covid swept in, and with horrific images of Italian temporary morgues in tents, he went on holiday and took no calls. With the NHS bracing to be “overwhelmed” by the virus, he rode his new motorbike, walked his dog and hosted friends at Chevening.Nothing is surprising about that: he was ejected from Downing Street and later stepped down as an MP largely for partying and lying to parliament about it. Everyone knew he was a self-aggrandising fantasist with a “toxic and chaotic culture” around him. But this is not just about one narcissistic politician. It’s about his entire rightwing coterie of libertarians and their lethally dominant creed in the UK media.Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist Continu...

Events

63 h. ago Boris Johnson 'took a minibreak' as Covid pandemic ravaged UK

EX-Tory PM Boris Johnson claimed he worked while on a half-term trip away from London just before the pandemic took over - files have suggested he walked his dog and hosted pals instead

Politics

64 h. ago Boris Johnson had a four day break in crucial period before Covid pandemic struck

The official records have raised questions over whether the former prime minister may have misled the Covid inquiry

Politics

3 d. ago Boris Johnson took four days off as NHS warned Covid could ‘overwhelm’ system

Files show then PM was walking dog, riding motorbike and hosting guests as pandemic planning stalled in ‘lost month’Boris Johnson took four days off from official government business during a key period in the UK’s Covid preparation when the NHS was bracing to be “overwhelmed” by the virus.Official disclosure for the period in February 2020 – described by the Covid inquiry as a “lost month” in the country’s crisis response – reveal Johnson enjoyed an extended break during the half-term holidays at Chevening, a governmental estate in Kent, where he spent time walking his dog and taking motorcycle rides. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Boris Johnson's sister claims the Covid report makes him sound like 'the Grim Reaper'

Boris Johnson’s sister has accused the Covid Inquiry report of regarding the former Prime Minister as “the Grim Reaper himself” - dismissing the 800 page document as “expensive vindictive rubbish"

Politics

3 d. ago Boris Johnson ‘beyond contempt’ for attack on Covid inquiry’s findings and refusal to apologise

Families of the Covid bereaved have reacted to horror to the lack of contrition in the former prime minister’s weekly column

Politics

3 d. ago Johnson says Covid inquiry that criticised chaos in his government ‘muddled’

The former prime minister said the Hallett report should be ‘filed vertically’.

Politics

3 d. ago ‘America is British’. Heaven is ‘a socialist state’. David Attenborough is ‘anti

He was a Conservative party big-hitter who wrote speeches for David Cameron and worked with Boris Johnson before he suddenly jumped ship. He talks family, flags and why Nigel Farage is ‘top dog’What I struggle to understand, I say to Danny Kruger in his office at Reform UK HQ, is why a serious Conservative, with a glittering future like yours, would defect to a party led by Nigel Farage? Indeed, the defection of Kruger, a heavy-weight on the Conservative right who served on the front bench and been tipped as a possible future leader, was seen as a major coup for Reform, catching commentators off-guard. Unlike previous deserters – Andrea Jenkyns, Jake Berry, Nadine Dorries – he was a sitting MP in a safe Tory seat. Plus, he was untarnished by the boisterous excesses of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.But we’ve been around the houses a few times on this. He’s talked about his philosophy (Burkean), his Christianity (evangelical), thrown out words like “family”, “community”, “nation”. ...

Politics

4 d. ago BORIS JOHNSON: On Covid there are two big questions: Where did the virus come from

What is in the news in Britain, asks BORIS JOHNSON. What are they talking about? You rub your eyes in sheer amazement. Covid!

Politics

4 d. ago Conservatives must apologise for their disastrous handling of Covid

Editorial: The Covid inquiry’s conclusion that the needless loss of 23,000 lives was due to government decision-making at the start of the pandemic, made worse by the toxic and chaotic leadership of Boris Johnson, has yet to make many leading Tories of the day sufficiently penitent

Events

4 d. ago Prisoner 951: how the show tackled its Boris Johnson problem

The then-Foreign Secretary comments on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe caused a diplomatic incident in 2017

Events

4 d. ago Voices: ‘We need leaders to lead’: Readers have their say on the UK’s delayed Covid pandemic response

Our community largely agreed with the Covid inquiry findings that Boris Johnson’s government was chaotic and poorly prepared, though many also stressed the broader context of conflicting scientific advice, years of underfunding, and systemic failings that compounded the crisis

Politics

4 d. ago Covid inquiry latest: Bereaved families hit out at Johnson’s ‘deafening silence’ over pandemic mistakes

The Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK campaign group said Boris Johnson’s pandemic actions were a ‘grave betrayal’ of the British public

Events

4 d. ago Boris Johnson could face legal action over pandemic failings after damning Covid inquiry report

Nadine Dorries and Lord Michael Gove have led attempts to undermine the damning report by Baroness Heather Hallett after it found inaction by Boris Johnson’s government may have cost 23,000 people their lives

Events

4 d. ago Top Tory insists Boris Johnson can come back despite damning Covid findings

Michael Gove apologised on behalf of the Conservative Party for the shambolic response to the Covid pandemic, but said Boris Johnson's political career shouldn't be over as a result

Politics

4 d. ago Nearly 6,000 Londoners died due to Covid within weeks after 'deadly delay' in ordering lockdown

Boris Johnson’s government was slammed by the Covid Inquiry for its ‘chaos’ and the ‘toxic’ culture in No10

Events

4 d. ago Covid inquiry latest: Boris Johnson put his reputation above public safety, say bereaved families

Damning report finds more than 20,000 lives could have been spared over spring and summer 2020 had restrictions started just seven days earlier

Politics

4 d. ago Why Covid inquiry's savage criticism of Boris Johnson is a warning to us all

Despite being overly reliant on the UK Government’s response to Covid, the Scottish Government’s relations with Westminster were marked by ‘constant tension’

Events

5 d. ago Boris Johnson nurtured 'toxic' Covid government culture as 'loudest voices' won

The former Prime Minister was found to at points have 'reinforced' a toxic culture inside the government that ultimately put Downing Street on the back foot during the pandemic

Politics

5 d. ago Boris Johnson Covid rule breaks and Partygate 'caused huge distress', inquiry finds

The former Prime Minister and his closest advisors' actions with Partygate and other rule breaks have been found to have directly distressed Brits who observed the rules while caring for loved ones

Politics