COVID Inquiry

[BillyStubbsTears]

Fascinating goings on in the heart of Govt.

The head of the inquiry, Lady Hallett, demanded that the Cabinet Office submit Johnson's WA messages to her.

The CO firstly refused, saying they were personal and irrelevant. (Note. We know Cummings ran Govt by WA, so they were unlikely to be irrelevant. And these were WA messages on a Govt phone, so what the f**k was Johnson doing sending personal messages on it?)

The CO then said they didn't have those messages.

Hallett responded by saying that she wanted a statement, signed by a senior official, explaining why they didn't have the messages from a Govt phone, and if they didn't, why they knew there were personal messages on the WA account. And reminded them that a lie would be perjury.

Johnson, tonight, has announced that the CO has all his WA messages.

Watch this space...

[Colin C No.3]

The man’s like Teflon.

[BillyStubbsTears]

It's about the perma-war that Johnson is waging on Sunak.

Anyone who thought Johnson was going to walk away into the sunset after the excruciating embarrassment of how he lost the PM post knows nothing about him. There's only one constant in his life and that's his gargantuan ego. He sees what happened last year as a betrayal and he will carry out his vendetta.

In this specific case, he's gunning full on for Sunak. He knows that if the standard is set that unredacted notes from a PM can be demanded by the Inquiry, Sunak will have no option but to submit his own. And then we will all get to see his manoeuvring to bring Heneghan and Gupta into Government meetings in September 2020, and the subsequent anti-lockdown policy - Sunak's policy - that led to 60,000 avoidable deaths over the subsequent 7-8 months, and an eventual lockdown that was far longer, harder and more costly than it needed to be.

Johnson has Sunak right in his sights. If he destroys the Tory party for a generation through this fight, he couldn't care less.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Sunak's integrity.

 How it started:
https://youtu.be/_0q12MQXk5s?t=128


How it's going:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65782535

[wilts rover]

On 3rd February Baroness Hallett wrote to Johnson with a list of 150 questions about the government’s handling of the pandemic she wanted answers to. They included:

To what extent did you believe that coronavirus was akin to influenza? Did you hold and express the initial view in early 2020 that Covid-19 was not a serious threat and was akin to swine flu?

Why did you not attend any COBR meetings in relation to Covid-19 prior to 2 March 2020, given the seriousness of the emergency?

Were you advised or requested to attend any of the previous meetings on 24 January, 29 January, 4 February, 12 February, and 18 February?

Why did you attend a personal/social meeting on the evening of 19 March, after you had called on the UK on 16 March to stop all non-essential contact with others?

Please confirm whether in March 2020 (or around that period), you suggested to senior civil servants and advisors that you be injected with Covid-19 on television to demonstrate to the public that it did not pose a threat?

In or around Autumn 2020, did you state that you would rather “let the bodies pile high” than order another lockdown, or words to that effect? If so, please set out the circumstances in which you made these comments.

Please explain what impact, if any, you consider alleged breaches of social restriction and lockdown rules by Ministers, officials and advisers... had on public confidence and the maintenance of observance of those rules by the public?

https://twitter.com/georgegrylls/status/1664327234826432515

I wonder what is in Johnson's diaries/messages that Sunak doesn't want to come out btw? What was he doing that we don't know about?

This inquiry is certainly not going to be a whitewash some feared it might be.

[BillyStubbsTears]

This inquiry should not and must not be a witch hunt to try to trip up people who were acting professionally and in good faith at the time. Honest, diligent people can still make mistakes.

But equally, it's not acceptable to turn a blind eye to everything. Lessons must be learned about where policy was right and where it was wrong. And if politicians made egregious mistakes that could and should have been avoided, we have a right to know.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Interestingly, Cummings, who usually pours out Tweets faster than a goose excretes, has been silent on Twitter for 6 weeks now.

I wonder if he's lawyering-up before getting called in front of Hallett?

[wilts rover]

Interestingly, Cummings, who usually pours out Tweets faster than a goose excretes, has been silent on Twitter for 6 weeks now.

I wonder if he's lawyering-up before getting called in front of Hallett?

Too busy re-editing his blog!

[BillyStubbsTears]

I love this line from the BBC.

"It is thought to be the first time a government has taken legal action against an inquiry it has set up."

Count the days down till they are out out of their misery.

[Sprotyrover]

This Thread is a BST and Wilts Rover love in! I’m so happy for both of you!

[wilts rover]

The Inquiries Act allows the independent inquiry chair to determine an inquiry’s process & procedure. Baroness Hallett has considerable experience and expertise in leading complex investigations."

Rishi Sunak, 27 April 2023.

34 days is a long time in politics

https://twitter.com/StewartWood/status/1664387988841717770

[wilts rover]

This Thread is a BST and Wilts Rover love in! I’m so happy for both of you!

Good of you to come and join us in giving your opinion on the governent inquiry into how it handled a major pandemic and what lessons can be learnt so it is more effective in dealing with the next one.

Oh...

[Glyn_Wigley]

This Thread is a BST and Wilts Rover love in! I’m so happy for both of you!

Good of you to come and join us in giving your opinion on the governent inquiry into how it handled a major pandemic and what lessons can be learnt so it is more effective in dealing with the next one.

Oh...

I can only assume the only reason hound hasn't liked his post is because it would cause an irony overload.

[Bentley Bullet]

Nothing to do with BST & Wilts using the enquiry as a political football, like. 

[Glyn_Wigley]

Some people really ought to poke ther heads outside of criticising other posters in this forum and take a sniff at what the rest of the world is thinking about this matter. But unfortunately to those people it's never about the subject at hand, it's always all about criticising other posters at every opportunity. 

[Bentley Bullet]

Mr Wiggerly: 'I'm gonna give you my opinion of your post.'
BB: 'Oh, yes please.'
Mr Wiggerly: 'It's a load of shite.'
BB: 'I know, but I still like to hear it.'

[Colemans Left Hook]

To think this thread will still be going in a couple of years as the pointless "hindsight" enquiry continues and our regular "fifth columnists" will still be focusing on  dissipating their masculine stored energies  on this thread - meanwhile life in the real world continues   

[wilts rover]

Nothing to do with BST & Wilts using the enquiry as a political football, like. 

Ah the trollmeister himself appears, totally avoiding the subject topic and flinging personal attacks as usual.

At least sproty is funny.

[belton rover]

Some people really ought to poke ther heads outside of criticising other posters in this forum and take a sniff at what the rest of the world is thinking about this matter. But unfortunately to those people it's never about the subject at hand, it's always all about criticising other posters at every opportunity. 

And this post followed:

I can only assume the only reason hound hasn't liked his post is because it would cause an irony overload.

[bpoolrover]

I still don't think there is a clear outcome to what should have been done, clearly there needed to be a lockdown, was it done quick enough probably not, was it done for 2 long probably as it's caused a lot of deaths since, the tories wanted shorter lockdown labour wanted longer

[Glyn_Wigley]

Some people really ought to poke ther heads outside of criticising other posters in this forum and take a sniff at what the rest of the world is thinking about this matter. But unfortunately to those people it's never about the subject at hand, it's always all about criticising other posters at every opportunity. 

And this post followed:

I can only assume the only reason hound hasn't liked his post is because it would cause an irony overload.

But I didn't come into this thread to criticise any posters, but to read about the topic.

Renind, me, what was the post I was referring to adding to the subject at hand?

[Glyn_Wigley]

I still don't think there is a clear outcome to what should have been done, clearly there needed to be a lockdown, was it done quick enough probably not, was it done for 2 long probably as it's caused a lot of deaths since, the tories wanted shorter lockdown labour wanted longer

A clearer outcome will be when we find out what the expert advisors were telling the government and what any reasons for ignoring them were.

[Bentley Bullet]

Nothing to do with BST & Wilts using the enquiry as a political football, like. 

Ah the trollmeister himself appears, totally avoiding the subject topic and flinging personal attacks as usual.

At least sproty is funny.

I wasn't trying to be funny, I was just being plain honest.

[Bentley Bullet]

I still don't think there is a clear outcome to what should have been done, clearly there needed to be a lockdown, was it done quick enough probably not, was it done for 2 long probably as it's caused a lot of deaths since, the tories wanted shorter lockdown labour wanted longer

A clearer outcome will be when we find out what the expert advisors were telling the government and what any reasons for ignoring them were.

What difference will the result of the enquiry make to those who are using it as a political football? If the government isn't found guilty of anything untoward in its handling of the pandemic they will call it a whitewash anyway, so what's the point?

[Hounslowrover]

So BB the point is to learn nothing that can be used if there is a future pandemic. 

[Bentley Bullet]

So BB the point is to learn nothing that can be used if there is a future pandemic. 

Points should always be learnt with the advantage of hindsight, but the use of hindsight to gain political smarty points is appalling.

[BillyStubbsTears]

So BB the point is to learn nothing that can be used if there is a future pandemic. 

Points should always be learnt with the advantage of hindsight, but the use of hindsight to gain political smarty points is appalling.

Go on then. Who is doing that in this thread?

[Glyn_Wigley]

I still don't think there is a clear outcome to what should have been done, clearly there needed to be a lockdown, was it done quick enough probably not, was it done for 2 long probably as it's caused a lot of deaths since, the tories wanted shorter lockdown labour wanted longer

A clearer outcome will be when we find out what the expert advisors were telling the government and what any reasons for ignoring them were.

What difference will the result of the enquiry make to those who are using it as a political football? If the government isn't found guilty of anything untoward in its handling of the pandemic they will call it a whitewash anyway, so what's the point?

The same difference as to those who call everybody who disagrees with them as using it as a political football.

[belton rover]

Some people really ought to poke ther heads outside of criticising other posters in this forum and take a sniff at what the rest of the world is thinking about this matter. But unfortunately to those people it's never about the subject at hand, it's always all about criticising other posters at every opportunity. 

And this post followed:

I can only assume the only reason hound hasn't liked his post is because it would cause an irony overload.

But I didn't come into this thread to criticise any posters, but to read about the topic.

Renind, me, what was the post I was referring to adding to the subject at hand?

The ONLY comment you made on this post was to have a sideswipe at Hound, who hadn’t entered the debate in any way.
Then you write some hypocritical b*llocks about your despair of posters criticising other posters.

Jesus.

[Bentley Bullet]

So BB the point is to learn nothing that can be used if there is a future pandemic. 

Points should always be learnt with the advantage of hindsight, but the use of hindsight to gain political smarty points is appalling.

Go on then. Who is doing that in this thread?

Give over, who are you actually trying to kid other than your handful of followers? You started this thread as a political football to kick the Tories, just as you have been doing for donkey's years.