THE CHARGES BORIS MUST ANSWER

Charge 1 Europe’s biggest toll

We now have more than 40,000 dead compared to 33,700 in Italy, 29,000 in France, 27,000 in Spain and 8,700 in Germany. With all settings included, UK deaths may top 61,000. In the last week of May there were 236 newly confirmed UK cases per million population compared to 168 in Portugal, 100 in France and 71 in Ireland. VERDICT: Toll reflects failure to protect vulnerable and elderly.

Charge 2 Care homes hell

Lack of PPE for staff, failure to test and releasing hospital patients with Covid-19 back into homes led to disaster. In the 10 weeks before the outbreak an average 2,600 residents died each week. By April, that hit 7,900. Social care deaths are now estimated at 20,000. The Government’s £3.2billion in emergency funding was less than half what the sector needs. VERDICT: Protecting NHS was vital, but it led to neglect of frail and elderly. Health and social care must be linked.

Charge 3 Testing failure

Too few test were available before lockdown. Testing and tracing must be fully functional to avoid needless deaths as lockdown eases, says the Health Foundation. At the virus peak, the UK conducted 10.13 tests per 1,000 people compared to Italy’s 32.73, Ireland’s 31 and Germany’s 30.4. By Friday, Britain had tested 73,000 per million of population – below Belgium, Russia, Portugal and Spain. UK Statistics Authority chair Sir David Norgrove branded Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s figures “far from complete and comprehensible”. VERDICT: Testing and tracing is not enough. Track and isolate is crucial.

Charge 4 Masks rule too late

Rail, bus, ferry and air passengers will only have to travel with face masks from June 15. Yet the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies recommended them in April where social distancing was not possible. VERDICT: Boris Johnson’s claim to be following the science failed.

Charge 5 Cancer ignored

Cancer cases will go up by an estimated 23,000 as 2.4 million people have missed screening and tests. Michelle Mitchell of Cancer Research UK said: “Prompt diagnosis

and treatment remain crucial to give people the greatest chances of survival.” VERDICT: The PM took his eye off this ball.

Charge 6 Late quarantine

As lockdown began, flights still touched down from China, even though Australia had banned them six weeks earlier. There were 3.1 million Heathrow arrivals in March – nearly 500,000 from Asia, 875,000 from the EU and 711,000 from North America. But from January to lockdown only 273 of the 18million arrivals in the UK were quarantined. Between mid-March and the start of April new cases rose from 2,000 to 6,000 a day. VERDICT:

The 14 days quarantine from tomorrow should have been in place in January.

Charge 7 Impact on jobs

Around 1,200 jobs an hour are disappearing, with the young hardest hit. The Resolution Foundation says nearly one in 10 18 to 24-yr-olds have lost jobs. The Institute for Fiscal Studies found closed sectors such as hospitality employed a third of all workers under 25. VERDICT: A massive retraining and reskilling programme must be introduced.

Charge 8 Schooling crisis

Only Reception, Years 1 and 6 are back at school out of nearly nine million children. Class sizes of no more than 15 mean schools are at 50 per cent capacity. The Education Endowment Foundation says the attainment gap between middle and working class children could now be up to 75 per cent. VERDICT: The PM must explain how he can open schools to more pupils and introduce one-to-one tuition to help poorer kids catch up.

Charge 9 High street mess

During the crisis, clothing and furniture prices have suffered their biggest drop since records began – a 4.6 per cent fall in May after a 3.7 per cent decline in April. British Retail Consortium boss Helen Dickinson said: “As non-essential shops reopen from June 15, consumer demand is expected to remain weak.” VERDICT: Johnson must act to relax Sunday trading laws to help shops survive.

Charge 10

The price of the average home dropped last month by £4,013 to £218,902 with sales down 53 per cent on the same period last year. But for private renters who pay an average 45 per cent of their income for a roof over their head, compared to 19 per cent for owner-occupiers, the situation is dire. Three million are just one payslip away from losing their home.

VERDICT: Scrap Stamp Duty to boost sales, and extend the evictions ban until the end of 2020.

Charge 11 Mixed messages

Among so many, the latest came from Matt Hancock on Friday. He announced surgical masks would be mandatory for all hospital staff from June 15, but had failed to inform them. Chris Hopson, head of NHS Providers, said: “Last minute decisions are being made on the hoof.” Previously Hancock said there was little evidence masks stopped transmission. VERDICT: Mixed messages cost lives. The PM says he’s in charge. So prove it.