DOWNING Street has declined to apologise after Boris Johnson provoked anger when he suggested "too many" care homes did not properly follow procedures during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Prime Minister's comments were branded a "real slap in the face" for care workers by the Independent Care Group, while another sector leader said they were "clumsy and cowardly".
Johnson's official spokesman was asked during a Westminster briefing what the PM had meant by the remarks.
He said: "Throughout the pandemic, care homes have done a brilliant job under very difficult circumstances.
"The Prime Minister was pointing out that nobody knew what the correct procedures were because the extent of asymptomatic transmission was not known at the time."
READ MORE: Boris Johnson blasted after blaming care homes for Covid-19 deaths
Asked if Johnson would like to apologise or retract the comments, the spokesman said: "As I've just set out, the PM thinks that throughout the pandemic care homes have done a brilliant job under very difficult circumstances."
The Prime Minister's remarks came after he was asked what he made of NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens' desire to see plans to adequately fund the adult social care sector within a year.
Johnson said: "One of the things the crisis has shown is we need to think about how we organise our social care package better and how we make sure we look after people better who are in social care.
"We discovered too many care homes didn't really follow the procedures in the way that they could have but we're learning lessons the whole time."
Sector leaders said the suggestion that care home workers were not following procedures was "totally inappropriate" and "hugely insulting".
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel