Thousands of people died needlessly as a result of government mistakes in the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Dominic Cummings has said.
The PM's former top aide said Boris Johnson was "unfit for the job", claiming he had ignored scientific advice and wrongly delayed lockdowns.
He also claimed Matt Hancock should have been fired for lying - something denied by the health secretary.
"Tens of thousands of people died, who didn't need to die," Mr Cummings added.
Mr Cummings cannot possibly know that last statement to be true. The UK pandemic obviously cannot be run again under a different policy. It's a ludicrous claim.
Neither do we have enough experience of seasonal rises and falls in viral infections to know it it might have been true at the time. To my mind that makes him a fool or a charlatan and he isn't a fool, although his abilities do appear to be overestimated.
9 comments:
What we are seeing here is the settling of scores; he obviously hates Hancock (who doesn't inspire confidence and is probably inept) and he is trying to destabilise Boris.
Clearly, the Government were caught unawares, and that includes the Civil Service and our super-duper world class NHS. We simply had insufficient knowledge of pandemics and the nature of that particular virus to know in advance what the best policy should be. I can understand Boris relying on epidemiologists and medical specialists to guide him, but the big question is why was Cummings even there in the first place? A lot of his testimony today sounded as if he was qualified to comment on epidemiological matters and Government policy, but he was initially brought in to help Boris sort out Brexit and the dodgy agreement brokered by Theresa May. He had done some sound work in influencing the referendum result, but since being brought into government he seems to have had little impact. I get the impression that when the pandemic hit, he found himself in possession of a lanyard and pass, and thought he ought to apply himself to the next crisis as well.
They are ALL telling lies, mixed in with truth.
Unfortunately we don't know the exact proportions of lies to truth coming from each one of them.
I have been aware of Boris since before he became Mayor of London. I have no idea why he appeals to voters.
James Strong
Good post AKH, and thanks, Sam for saying exactly what I think too!
What the lefty media is ignoring, is that an almost identical charade was playing out on many issues during the Blair/Brown fiasco years with mad Ali and Mandelson.
Much of this is perhaps Cummings (who the media hated last year hoping to damage the Tory Government) being loved by the media this year (hoping to damage the Tory Government).
There may be some truth in what Cummings says... but he comes across as bitter and twisted. Had he been calmer and more 'forensic' he might have done better.
What have we learnt? The Government made some mistakes like many others, and compromised on some issues (it is in the nature of politics). And perhaps Cummings is not such a Grate Brane as he thinks without the patronage of the PM - that's got to sting.
I suppose, like managers, political advisors like Cummings think they can advise on anything. The problem for us is that are specialist advisors any better? When it comes to 'cutting edge ' science, the answer seems to be "not really".
My father was described by colleagues at his funeral as 'a scientist to his finger tips'. He was a microbiologist and biochemical engineer and devised a project which eventually became Quorn. It was he who told me that (notionally) 80% of the scientific research done in the world wasn't worth the paper it was written on. That was because the majority of human activity in any subject was carried out by the incompetent and the untalented. The larger the field expanded the more rubbish it produced.
It is my belief that the world is now awash with crap science much of it driven by a political narrative. The public have an outdated (and in any case juvenile) attitude about science and the way it works, mediated by the fact that even today, there is no very clear majority understanding of the way the human world works- see education policy of the last forty years; or the way the BBC has developed. Particularly unremarked upon, is the difference between 'settled' (for the time being) and 'cutting edge science'. And here lies our difficulty with scientific advice and advisors viz coronavirus, so called climate change, racism et all.
@Tammly
Quite so. From Wikipedia:
Sturgeon's law (or Sturgeon's revelation) is an adage stating "ninety percent of everything is crap."
I don't see how scientific research is any different. Plus also from Wikipedia:
The Pareto principle states that for many outcomes, roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of the causes (the “vital few”). Other names for this principle are the 80/20 rule, the law of the vital few, or the principle of factor sparsity.
Taking these two 'laws' together it's a wonder we get anything done properly.
I'm reading Failures of State, by J Calvery & G Arbuthnott.
Although it's about the incompetence at the heart of Johnson's cabinet, from January 2020, it confirms most of Cummings revelations.
Johnson was not caring much about, or understanding, the approaching infection issues, as he was obsessed with Brexit (& Nut Nut) above all else.
Hancock out of his depth and ineffective. Although chairing COBRA meetings in Johnson's unforgivable absences, he failed to take action earlier and undoubtedly lives were lost due to these failings.
They'll bluster and deny it all of course, but I believe Cummings more than J & H.
Excellent, Tammly!
Sam - that's a good point, why was Cummings even there in the first place? He seems to think there is some kind of overarching technical expertise which can wipe out uncertainties in any field. Strange chap.
James - I think Boris comes across as genuine. He isn't genuine, but for many people he seems to perform the act well enough.
Scrobs - yes it was an almost identical charade - all they were good for was emulating Machiavelli rather than anything constructive.
DJ - "And perhaps Cummings is not such a Grate Brane as he thinks without the patronage of the PM - that's got to sting."
That sounds spot on to me. Cummings doesn't really kno How to be Topp.
Tammly - I was an environmental scientist for almost all of my working like and I'd say your father was right about 80% of scientific research not being worth the paper it is written on. Maybe worse than that. Most scientists are mediocrities and we shouldn't be surprised. The trouble is, some don't know it.
Ed - I've not read the book, but a problem I'd be wary of at this stage is hindsight and simplifications which are premature. We see lots of those already of course.
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