EMMA LEWELL-BUCK: Angry and heartbroken by a cavalier attitude towards lives

Many of these deaths were avoidable, if the Prime Minister and his Cabinet had made different decisions. This is not ‘playing politics’ - it is a fact. I am not only heartbroken but angry at their cavalier attitude towards our lives.

We are now in our third national lockdown whilst other countries around the World are living their normal lives safely, as we once did. Their leaders weren’t slow to introduce restrictions, they locked down fully and early.

They closed their borders, introduced reliable and functioning test, trace, track

and isolate systems and offered adequate financial support to individuals and businesses.

In early 2020, the PM was on TV laughing and joking, shaking hands with patients instead of listening to the World Health Organisation who were clear that this was a serious and dangerous virus and that the UK, due to over a decade of austerity and downgrading of our NHS, was not prepared for.

Had the Prime Minister been proactive instead of reactive lives would have been saved. The fact we are now in our third lockdown is evidence that the Government’s approach is failing us all.

Over 25,000 untested people were moved from hospitals into care homes, our health staff and other key workers didn’t have the right PPE, our borders remained open, lockdown was lifted early, we were told to ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ and to get back to work, school and university.

Then came a second lockdown, a tiering system and now our third lockdown. We are starting 2021 with the highest death toll in Europe and one of the worst performing economies in the World. All the while, Tory friends and donors who have no experience in health care are being awarded covid-related

contracts that they are failing to deliver on.

The Prime Minister said he takes full responsibility and is sorry, adding a caveat to his apology that “we did everything we could”. This is an insult and brings little comfort to those grieving their lost loved ones.