Here’s what Boris could have done differently...

THERE were “many things that we wished we’d done differently” (in relation to managing the Covid19 crisis). That was Boris Johnson speaking on Tuesday. It’s not clear if he’s using the royal “we” or sharing the blame with his Conservative cabinet colleagues. Either way, here’s a few of those “many things”.

1. An initial delay of several weeks before introducing any lockdown measures. It’s likely this delay caused many deaths.

2. A Test and Trace system that was, to quote the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, “unimaginably” expensive at £37bn. It wasn’t great at tracing. And many of those pinged simply ignored what they were asked to do, making it pointless.

3. Dishy Rishi’s “Eat Out to Help Out” scheme. This had only “limited” or “marginal” effects in helping the catering industry (according to reports from the London School of Economics and the British Chambers of Commerce). We can also guess that the increased socialising gave the virus opportunities to spread.

4. Reluctance to limit air travel to and from the UK. Another friend of the coronavirus! It is likely that returning half-term skiers were among the first spreaders of the virus to the island of Great Britain last spring. Lesson not learnt. The travel needs of business travellers trumped other concerns. (It’s sad that business folk appear incapable of remote working.)

As Keir Starmer is often reminded it’s easy to be a “Captain Hindsight”, and Boris and Rishi do deserve a little sympathy.

What is really bewildering is why some of this paper’s correspondents direct so much criticism, not at Conservative politicians in London, but at our Cardiff West MS Mark Drakeford.

All the issues I highlight are UK Government responsibilities. Nothing to do with Professor Drakeford. Slightly stricter and longer lockdowns here in Wales might be irksome for some, but they will have saved lives. It’s too early to be certain, but it looks as if Wales will have had fewer Covid related deaths than one would have expected, based on demographic factors. If so, that’s a massive achievement. For which, much thanks to NHS Wales and Welsh Government.

Dr Ian Hughes Morganstown, Cardiff

It looks as if Wales will have had fewer Covidrelated deaths than one would have expected...

Dr Ian Hughes Morganstown