Grieving family’s horror over PM claims

The devastated daughter of an elderly coronavirus victim has spoken of her disgust after bombshell claims the Prime Minister said‘covid was only killing 80 year olds’.

A government source told our sister newspaper the Mirror that Boris Johnson had dismissed the disease as “only”killing 80 year olds last autumn.

They claimed he said:“If I was 80 I wouldn’t care, I’d be more worried about the economy.”

The revelations have horrified the family of Bishopton man Bill Campbell.

He was 86 when he died of Covid-19. His daughter, Linda Verlaque, said Mr Johnstone should be held accountable for his actions throughout the pandemic.

She said:“It’s bad enough that I lost my 86-year-old father to covid, but almost losing my husband, who’s only 54, to covid in December last year was unbearable.

“The PM’s comments are ridiculous and he should be held accountable for every death, no matter what age in the UK.”

Downing Street did not deny Mr Johnson made the remarks - but insisted the government had been focused throughout on saving lives.

A No 10 spokesman said:“There is a huge task for this government to get on with.

“We are entirely focused on recovering from the pandemic, moving through the roadmap and distributing vaccines while delivering on the public’s priorities.

“Throughout this pandemic, the government’s priority has been to save lives, protect the NHS and support people’s jobs and livelihoods across the United Kingdom.”

The revelations come two days after his former aid Dominic Cummings told a parliamentary enquiry that the UK Government should have locked down sooner.

He insisted ministers had failed in their response to the pandemic and that thousands of people needlessly died.

Mr Johnstone has vehemently denied the allegations, arguing the government’s priority had always been to“save lives”.