BORIS Johnson skipped five Cobra meetings as the coronavirus crisis worsened in China and began to spread around the world, it has been revealed.
The Sunday Times reports that Johnson did not attend a raft of emergency meetings and claims the UK Government missed a series of opportunities to try and lessen the impact of the outbreak in February and March.
The criticisms levelled at Boris Johnson’s administration include failing to heed warnings from top scientists and failing to properly implement its own pandemic strategy – which had been hampered by a decade of austerity, meaning PPE stocks were dwindling or out of date.
A government source said: “Almost every plan we had was not activated in February.
"Almost every government department has failed to properly implement their own pandemic plans."
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister was said to be prioritising Brexit and Cabinet reshuffles, showing little or no urgency in response to the coronavirus outbreak in China.
Johnson was also criticised for his work ethic, with one source claiming the PM refused to work weekends.
A senior Downing Street aide told the newspaper: "There's no way you're at war if your PM isn't there.
"And what you learn about Boris was he didn't chair any meetings. He liked his country breaks. He didn't work weekends.
"It was like working for an old-fashioned chief executive in a local authority 20 years ago. There was a real sense that he didn't do urgent crisis planning. It was exactly like people feared he would be."
READ MORE: PPE flown in from China amid new concerns on England-only sales
Both "Boris out" and "Boris resign" have trended on Twitter since the report was published online.
Johnson’s team rubbished the reports.
A Number 10 spokesman said: "The Prime Minister has been at the helm of the response to this, providing leadership during this hugely challenging period for the whole nation."
However, asked about the claims this morning, Michael Gove told Andrew Marr merely that “there are one or two aspects of the Sunday Times report that are slightly off-beam”.
A Downing Street spokesperson was more emphatic.
They said: "The Government has been working day and night to battle against coronavirus, delivering a strategy designed at all times to protect our NHS and save lives.
"Guided by medical and scientific expertise, we have implemented specific measures to reduce the spread of the virus at the time they will be most effective.
"Our response has ensured that the NHS has been given all the support in needs to ensure everyone requiring treatment has received it, as well as providing protection to businesses and reassurance to workers.
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