Johnson told cabinet in December 2020 he favoured letting old people get Covid to protect others from impact of lockdownTurning back to the Covid inquiry, Lee Cain is coming towards the end of his evidence.
While Keir Starmer was speaking, the inquiry was presented with an extract from Sir Patrick Vallance’s diary saying that in December 2020 Boris Johnson told a cabinet meeting that he favoured letting “the old people” get Covid to protect others from the impact of another lockdown. Vallance was the government’s chief scientific adviser.
The Times’ Steven Swinford has posted the extract on X.
BREAKING:
Boris Johnson said he agreed that ‘we should let the old people get it [coronavirus] and protect others’ from national lockdown
[On Covid fatalities] ‘The median age is 82-81 for men & 85 for women. That is above life expectancy. So get covid and live l longer’ pic.twitter.com/Zbfojs6kVG
— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) October 31, 2023 Key events
Cummings starts giving evidence to Covid inquiryDominic Cummings, who was Boris Johnson’s chief adviser for most of 2020, has just started giving evidence.
As he began, Sky News warned its viewers to expect bad language.
Hugo Keith KC, counsel for the inquiry, is questioning Cummings. He says the inquiry has had a witness statement. It was “lengthy”, he says (which will be no surprise to anyone who has read a Cummings blog).
And Pippa Crerar has this, from what Lee Cain was saying while Keir Starmer was speaking.
Lee Cain tells Covid inquiry that Boris Johnson and top team made “huge blunder” by resisting Marcus Rashford’s call for free school meals to be extended.
He said lack of cabinet diversity meant none had received FSM themselves which resulted in “policy & political blind spot”
Lee Cain tells Covid inquiry that Boris Johnson and top team made “huge blunder” by resisting Marcus Rashford’s call for free school meals to be extended.
He said lack of cabinet diversity meant none had received FSM themselves which resulted in “policy & political blind spot”.
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) October 31, 2023 Johnson told cabinet in December 2020 he favoured letting old people get Covid to protect others from impact of lockdownTurning back to the Covid inquiry, Lee Cain is coming towards the end of his evidence.
While Keir Starmer was speaking, the inquiry was presented with an extract from Sir Patrick Vallance’s diary saying that in December 2020 Boris Johnson told a cabinet meeting that he favoured letting “the old people” get Covid to protect others from the impact of another lockdown. Vallance was the government’s chief scientific adviser.
The Times’ Steven Swinford has posted the extract on X.
BREAKING:
Boris Johnson said he agreed that ‘we should let the old people get it [coronavirus] and protect others’ from national lockdown
[On Covid fatalities] ‘The median age is 82-81 for men & 85 for women. That is above life expectancy. So get covid and live l longer’ pic.twitter.com/Zbfojs6kVG
— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) October 31, 2023 Here is the full text of Keir Starmer’s speech.
Q: Do you think Labour MPs calling for a ceasefire have been disloyal?
Starmer says he thinks he has addressed this. He has explained why he is not backing a ceasefire, but what Labour is proposing to alleviate suffering.
He ends by saying he thinks he took a question from every reporter who wanted to ask one.
Starmer says he was “shocked” when he saw video of people tearing down posters of the Israelis taken hostage by Hamas. But he says he does not think the law needs to be changed to address this.
UPDATE: This is from Kate McCann from Times Radio, who asked this question.
I asked Keir Starmer about this video, filmed in his constituency. He said he was shocked to see it. Starmer indicates he believes the police do currently have the powers to tackle it but calls on the Home Secretary to read advice provided to her on what more may be needed… t.co/NqJZKqd9P4
— Kate McCann (@KateEMcCann) October 31, 2023 Starmer says he will apply ‘proportionality’ when applying collective responsibility rules to those calling for ceasefireQ: Can Labour frontbenchers call for a ceasefire without facing any sanction?
Starmer says Labour needs collective responsibility. He says he wants to enforce that “with an eye on the context of what we are facing”.
He also says that he has to be mindful of “the proportionality of any measures that are there for collective responsibility”, and that he wants to approach this “sensitively”, engaging with his frontbenchers and understanding what is motivating them.
That sounds like confirmation that frontbenchers who have called for a ceasefire won’t be sacked.
Q: Labour described Andy McDonald’s comments as deeply offensive. Should he be allowed to stand again as a candidate?
Starmer says he cannot comment because a disciplinary process is under way.
Q: There is evidence Iran played a role in the attacks on 7 October. Do you think the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps should be proscribed?
Starmer says he has to be careful on this. Labour is getting intelligence briefings from the government. He says it is important to ensure the situation does not escalate.
Q: How worried are you about a terrorist attack in the UK?
Starmer says of course he is concerned about the incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia, that schools are being attacked, that Muslims do not feel safe. He says politicians have a duty to tackle these issues.
Q: Are you going to sack the frontbenchers who have broken collective responsibility by calling for a ceasefire?
Starmer says it is his responsibility to apply collective responsibility, and he takes that seriously. He says the party is united in wanting to alleviate suffering.
Q: (From Muslim News) A majority of people in the UK support a ceasefire. Shouldn’t you back one?
Starmer says he is not suprised by the level of support for a ceasefire. People want to alleviate the suffering. But he says he has asked if a ceasefire would be right if it would allow Hamas to carry out further attacks, and if it would not bring back the hostages. And so that is he s not calling for a ceasefire, he says.
But he says he is not leaving it there. He is also pushing for humanitarian pauses.
Q: And can you see why Muslim people around the world think their lives count for less?
Starmer says each life matters. He has children. Each deaths pains him, and the vast majority of people in the country, he says.
Q: Can you explain what you think is morally justifiable, and not morally justifiable, in terms of what Israel is doing. Two examples: the communications blackout, and telling people to move to southern Gaza and then shelling it. Are those moral?
Starmer says he is not going to break the rule he set out earlier. (See 11.36am.)
But everyone was concerned about the communications blackout, he says.
And he says that, if Palestinians have to flee, it should be clear that they will have a right to return.
He says his speech should not leave people in doubt about what should happen.
Q: (From Jewish News) Some of our readers are concerned about Labour MP speaking at pro-Palestinian demonstrations because of the hatred being expressed at those events.
Starmer says, where there is evidence that offences are being committed, the police should act. It is there job to make arrests where appropriate.
But they also have a duty to allow protests to take place, he says.
He says these are difficult judgment calls.
The right to peaceful protest is a cherished right and we should not give it up, he says.