New wave of Tory government sleaze?

ACCUSATIONS of incompetence are often levelled at the dismal duo of Johnson and Cummings, but the real issue goes much deeper and is more sinister.

Cummings out-sourced government contracts to private companies, often without competitive tendering. Companies that often had contributed to Tory Party funds or specifically to Boris Johnson’s leadership campaign.

Frequently these companies had little or no expertise in that business and struggled to meet targets, but were still paid. These companies included some managed by Cummings’ Leave cronies.

This chaotic out-sourcing contributed to Britain having the greatest number of coronavirus deaths in Europe, with excess deaths soaring to above 60,000!

The shortage of personal protection equipment caused the deaths of hundreds of NHS staff.

The delays in its arrival were largely caused by the out-sourcing of its delivery.

The latest Covid-19 Test and Track fiasco is a perfect illustration. NHSX was developed by one of Cummings’ Leave cronies. It should have been the keystone of the government’s strategy, ensuring a much smoother transition out of lockdown. It has proved unworkable.

Lockdown was seriously undermined, not so much by Cummings’ drive to Durham, but by the prime minister’s subsequent abject failure to sack him for ignoring the rules, opening the floodgates to the present crisis where government coronavirus “advice” is now ignored by many.

Johnson’s weak dependency on his advisor is dragging him down, eroding his authority and credibility still further. Margaret Thatcher sacked a minister, described as her so-called soul mate, when he committed a sexual indiscretion. She was definitely not dependent.

Boris Johnson’s recent failure to sack Robert Kendrick when he undermined his ministerial integrity by fast tracking a billionaire’s development plans, suggest that Johnson is colluding with Cummings’ scheme to siphon off government contracts to his cronies!

Is Boris Johnson seeking to encourage a new wave of Tory government sleaze?

Andrew Milroy Trowbridge