THE SNP have slammed Boris Johnson for thinking that over-80s should be "sacrificed to the whims" of coronavirus.
Ian Blackford asked why the public should put faith in the Prime Minister after he allegedly said “get Covid and live longer”.
It comes after Dominic Cummings shared WhatsApps with the BBC that he says shows the Prime Minister didn’t want to bring in tougher rules because “the people who are dying are essentially all over 80”.
The former chief adviser to Johnson and Vote Leave boss provided the comments in his first broadcast interview with BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg.
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At Prime Minister’s Questions, the SNP’s Westminster leader said: “Last night we heard from the Prime Minister’s former chief of staff on the 15th of October the Prime Minister didn’t believe that the NHS would be overwhelmed and thought that the over-80s should be sacrificed to the whims of the deadly virus.
“The Prime Minister wrote those words while our NHS was facing the darkest moments in its history. While doctors and nurses were fighting to contain the pandemic, the Prime Minister was actively pushing for the virus to be allowed to run rampant through towns and cities.
“The Prime Minister was willing in his own words to allow the bodies to be piled high.”
He asked: “How can anyone have put faith and trust in a Prime Minister who actually typed the words ‘get Covid and live longer’?”
Boris Johnson replied: “I think that [Blackford] grossly mischaracterises the substance of those discussions, what I said. I have made points in the House of Commons already, in the Chamber, about the language that I am alleged to have used.
“But I think what everybody in this country understands is that the decisions that we had to take at that time were incredibly difficult. And of course this in no way detracts from the grief and the suffering of those who have lost loved ones to Covid, whose families have been hit by the consequences of that disease.
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He added: “A lockdown also causes immense suffering and loss of life chances and loss of health and to mental health. And in due course he knows very well there will be a chance to look at all of this in a full public inquiry.”
Blackford replied: "Is that it?
"The PM actually wrote these words himself. Such a glib attitude towards human life is indefensible, the PM is simply not fit for office.
"The clear pattern throughout this pandemic is that, it’s one rule for them and another for the rest of us.
"The reality is, Mr Speaker, that the only way to get to the full truth over this UK government’s disastrous handling of the pandemic, is for this cabal to be made to answer under oath.
“So, will the Prime Minister confirm that, in the interests of public health and confidence, that the Covid inquiry will begin immediately and commit to appearing at the inquiry himself under oath before any general election is called?”
The Prime Minister said he believes spring next year is the best time for a full public inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic to begin.
He said he is “confident” that by spring 2022 the UK will be in a “much, much better position” with the virus.
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Responding to Blackford, Johnson said: “I appreciate why it is so important for this country to have a full public inquiry and that is why I made the announcement to the House that we would, and I also think that it is right to go ahead as soon as is reasonable.
“I don’t think that right now in the middle of a third wave when we are seeing many of the key people involved in fighting the pandemic very, very heavily occupied, I don’t think it is right to ask them to devote a lot of their time to a public inquiry of the kind that I think we would all want to see.”
He added: “And that is why I think it is right it should start in the spring when I’m pretty confident – and so are the rest of the scientific community – that we will really be in a much, much better position and able to go ahead and that is the time to begin the public inquiry, but that doesn’t mean that we aren’t continuing to learn lessons all the time.”
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