Not surprisingly perhaps – conscious as they must be that they will be lucky to escape criminal charges – the government has started to devote as much time to managing the cover-up and defence case as to ‘managing’ the epidemic. These are the key lines in the defence which we can expect to see more of in the coming days:
- It is all China’s fault. (This isn’t much of a legal defence but it will help with the PR side of things).
- The virus kept changing and we were playing catch-up. We constantly updated the protocols in response to new scientific evidence about the virus.
- The scientists gave us bad advice. (This one leaves people like the Chief Medical Officer for England, who is a paid government staff member, out on a limb).
- International comparisons cannot be made. (At least until 5 years in the future when I am out of office and out of range of prosecution).
- There are too many providers in the care home market. (This from the party which extols the free-market!).
I’ll update this page as new lines in the defence story become apparent.
Examples:
2 – https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/news/uk/ministers-defend-handling-of-coronavirus-in-care-homes-amid-stinging-criticism/
5 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3Y2tCx53ps