Charity Chief Attacks Johnson’s 'Trumpian' Response To Care Home Row
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A charity chief who went viral for his attack on Boris Johnson’s “cowardly” criticism of care homes has hit out at Downing Street’s “Trumpian” response and refusal to apologise.
Mark Adams, chief executive of Community Integrated Care (CIC), spoke out after No.10 tried to suggest the prime minister was not apportioning blame when he said “too many care homes didn’t really follow the procedures in the way that they could have”.
Adams, who first let rip his fury on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, told HuffPost UK that the government’s move to clarify Johnson’s remarks felt like an attempt to “bluff” his way through the row.
The charity boss, who oversees a workforce of 6,500 staff helping people with dementia and learning difficulties, blasted a string of government failures in the pandemic.
Its failed tracing app, money wasted on antibody tests and abortive attempts to get protective equipment from abroad were all proof of the shortcomings, as well as inadequate testing and care home guidance, he said.
And he warned that unless more funding and routine testing was made available, the UK would face more deaths in the likely second and subsequent waves of the pandemic.
The PM’s spokesperson repeatedly refused to apologise for his remarks about care homes made on Monday, insisting instead that he was pointing out “nobody knew the correct procedures to put in place at the time, because the extent of asymptomatic transmission was not known”.
Adams told HuffPost UK the PM’s words were pretty clear, and it was no surprise that many in the care sector felt he was blaming them.
“Yesterday, he said it’s become clear that some care providers failed because they failed to follow procedures. If you were saying that nobody knew the rules because they’re asymptomatic, why would you say some have failed? And why would you say...
