{"id":121651,"date":"2023-11-28T22:19:03","date_gmt":"2023-11-28T22:19:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leviolonrouge.com\/?p=121651"},"modified":"2023-11-28T22:19:03","modified_gmt":"2023-11-28T22:19:03","slug":"michael-gove-the-country-was-not-well-prepared-to-deal-with-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leviolonrouge.com\/politics\/michael-gove-the-country-was-not-well-prepared-to-deal-with-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Gove: The country was not well prepared to deal with pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

The Tory Cabinet minister said: \u201cWe were not well prepared as we should have been ideally. I think that is true.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe virus was novel and indeed \u2013 I think this probably goes beyond the remit of the inquiry this \u2013 a significant body of judgment that believes that the virus itself was man-made and that presents sort of challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hugo Keith KC, lead counsel, said it was not in the inquiry\u2019s terms of reference to look at the \u201csomewhat divisive issue\u201d of Covid\u2019s origins,.<\/p>\n

The Levelling Up Secretary apologised to victims and to bereaved families for Government \u201cerrors\u201d, such as locking down too late.<\/p>\n

But Mr Gove, who was the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when the pandemic began in 2020, defended then-PM Boris Johnson\u2019s \u201cgladiatorial\u201d decision-making against repeated claims of dysfunctionality.<\/p>\n

Mr Gove said he took responsibility, adding: \u201cIf I may…apologise to the victims who endured such pain, the families who endured so much loss as a result of the mistakes that were made.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a minister responsible for the Cabinet Office, and [I] was also close to many of the decisions that were made, I must take my share of responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

He claimed \u201cevery decision was difficult and every course was bad\u201d at the time. Mr Gove went on: \u201cWe were too slow to lock down initially in March [2020]. We should have taken stricter measures before we eventually decided to do so in late October.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Gove added there was insufficient focus on the impact on children and there were errors in obtaining personal protective equipment.<\/p>\n

The hearing was shown a message he sent to Mr Johnson\u2019s chief adviser Dominic Cummings on March 4 2020.<\/p>\n

It read: \u201cWe\u2019re f****** up as a government and missing golden opportunities. The whole situation is even worse than you think and action needs to be taken or we will regret it for a long time.\u201d Explaining, Mr Gove said he was concerned over the Cabinet Office and its ability to handle Covid.<\/p>\n

Mr Johnson \u2013 due to appear at the London hearing next week \u2013 has been accused of failing to stick to pandemic decisions already made.<\/p>\n

Mr Gove said that he had a \u201chigh opinion\u201d of former Health Secretary Matt Hancock during the crisis; Lord Sedwill, the then-most senior civil servant, had wanted him fired. Mr Gove said \u201ctoo much was asked\u201d of the Department of Health initially.<\/p>\n

The inquiry continues.<\/p>\n