THE BLAME LIES HERE...
We’re a great country. We shouldn’t have one of the highest death rates in the world... or one of the worst recessions...
KEIR Starmer says Boris Johnson has seriously let down the nation over the Covid-19 crisis.
The Labour leader said the Tories are to blame for infections soaring and restrictions returning.
Mr Starmer said the Government’s record on key issues such as the testing system is a “scandal”, adding: “It shouldn’t be like this.”
The Prime Minister has warned the country will face a second national lockdown if new coronavirus curbs are flouted.
He suggested the spike in cases is due to “freedom-loving” Brits, not confusion, the testing shambles or lack of trust in the Government.
The UK recorded 6,178 new coronavirus cases yesterday, which is close to the highest ever daily total, recorded in early May.
While the Covid-19 death toll rose by 37 to 41,862.
In a rare televised address to the nation, Mr Starmer said: “The return of this virus and the return of restrictions are not an act of God. They’re a failure of government.
“The British people have done everything asked of them. But I’m afraid the Government has not...
“We’re a great country. We shouldn’t have one of the highest death rates in the world, or one of the worst recessions.
“It’s a national scandal that we still don’t have a testing system that works or a plan to protect our care homes. It shouldn’t be like this.” Earlier, Mr Starmer told the Commons the PM is “pretending there isn’t a problem” with the Government’s Covid testing system.
Ahead of the launch of the tracing app – three months later than promised – Mr Starmer said parents were desperately trying to get tests for their children. Figures show one in eight pupils were off school this week, and Mr Starmer said: “How on earth did we get into this mess?”
He added: “Losing control of testing is a major reason why the Prime Minister is losing control of this virus.” But the PM said: “We are doing our level best to get every child a test who has symptoms and further to that... 99.9% of our schools are now back.”
The restrictions he announced on Tuesday y include office staff in England being told to work from home and a 10pm curfew in pubs. But the Government’s sc ient i f ic advisers say more is needed. Professor John Edmunds, of the SAGE group of scientists, called for tougher measures “as fast as possible” such as a ban on two households gathering.
He said: “I suspect we will see very stringent measures coming in place throughout the UK at some point, but it will be too late again.
We didn’t act quick enough in March. We haven’t learnt from our mistake... we’re about to repeat it.”
No10 said: “There are also scientists on the other side of the argument saying we have gone too far.”
Chief medical adviser Prof Chris Whitty reportedly warned the PM further restrictions in England – including a households mixing ban – were inevitable to bring the epidemic under control.
A YouGov poll has found 78% of people support the measures already announced, but 45% said the PM should have gone further.
Over 13 million people across the North, the Midlands, Scotland and Wales are already living with tougher local restrictions.
Mr Johnson is under pressure from Chancellor Rishi Sunak not to risk further economic devastation.
The Tories are set to wait around two weeks to see if the measures are working before deciding whether to introduce more.
Mr Starmer has defended saying in his conference speech this week Mr Johnson is “not up to the job”.
The Labour chief told the BBC: “Character matters in a moment like this... Everybody is vested on whether the Government gets it right... whether it is on the health front... on the economy and jobs.
“I don’t think he has got the right character for this and I don’t think he is up to it.”
The return of this virus is not an act of God, but a failure of government
KEIR STARMER ON HOW CRISIS HAS BEEN HANDLED