CONTROVERSY ERUPTS: BORIS DENIES SAYING ‘LET THE BODIES PILE HIGH’
LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday denied a newspaper report that he had said he would rather “bodies piled high in their thousands” than order a third Covid-19 lockdown in the UK.
Johnson is facing allegations in the media about everything from his initial handling of the pandemic to questions over who financed the redecoration of his official apartment.
The Daily Mail newspaper cited unidentified sources as saying that, in October, shortly after agreeing to a second lockdown, Johnson told a meeting in Downing Street, “No more... lockdowns... let the bodies pile high in their thousands.”
Asked whether he had made the remark, Johnson told broadcasters, “No, but again, I think the important thing that people want us to get on and do as a government is to make sure that lockdowns work, and they have.”
The Daily Mail did not respond to a request for comment, but the BBC later reported that Johnson made the remark in a “heated discussion” about lockdowns. Reuters was unable to verify the reports.
Johnson did impose a third lockdown, in January, though critics say it could have been avoided had he yielded to pressure from senior ministers to make the second lockdown more stringent.