Mastermind

The government did not plan enough for a threat on the scale of coronavirus, its spending watchdog, The National Audit Office, has found. 

In response, the government said its approach throughout the pandemic had been "guided by data and the advice of scientific and medical experts". 

Clearly not, when it repeatedly ignored scientific advice to lock down. 

"As new evidence emerged, we acted quickly and decisively to protect lives and livelihoods," said a spokesperson. 

Clearly not, with three, successively late lockdowns and the idiocy of Eat Out to Help Out, the Christmas relaxations and opening schools too early, only to shut them a day later. The government gambled with lives to protect the economy first, resulting in both 127k deaths - half of which were totally avoidable, according to the science - AND a ravaged economy through having to lock down longer, necessitating unprecedented spending.

"We have committed to a full public independent inquiry to look at what lessons we can learn from our response to this unprecedented global challenge."

They will delay any inquiry such that it does not affect the next election and will ignore the result, as they do with anything critical of them. It will not start work before 2022 and would not report until at least 2024, with an election pencilled in for 2013.

This pathetic excuse for a government can only deny or ignore observed reality, issue mistruths in response to valid criticism, and bluster. Johnson never answers questions at PMQs with a direct response, veering off into irrelevancies. It reminds me of the Two Ronnies Mastermind sketch where Ronnie Corbet specialises in answering the question before last, but Johnson specialises in not answering any.

I can't wait for Dominic Cummings' appearance before MPs next Wednesday and the embarrassment it will cause to this bunch of shysters.