Second Lockdown: Critics Slam Government's 'Staggering Incompetence'
Critics have slammed the government’s “staggering incompetence” in the wake of Boris Johnson’s announcement of a second nationwide lockdown.
Tough new restrictions will come into force a minute after midnight on Thursday morning, with non-essential retail and hospitality forced to close and household mixing indoors forbidden.
The government had already been heavily criticised for failing to act in September when the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) issued a stark warning about rising cases and urged leaders to implement a circuit breaker lockdown.
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Data shown by chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty and chief scientific officer Sir Patrick Vallance during the press conference held by the PM on Saturday evening showed a grim trajectory for cases, hospitalisations and deaths without an intervention.
Labour MP Lisa Nandy tweeted: “A reminder that when he [Boris Johnson] was advised to lockdown on 21st September we were recording 4368 cases a day.
“Now it’s over 21k and rising. The incompetence is staggering.”
“It was the right thing to delay” says the Prime Minister. A reminder that when he was advised to lockdown on 21st September we were recording 4368 cases a day. Now it’s over 21k and rising. The incompetence is staggering
— Lisa Nandy (@lisanandy) October 31, 2020
MP John McDonnell also slammed the government’s “incompetence”, writing: ”[The] country has to recognise now that Johnson and Sunak are dangerously not up to the job.
“People have died and are dying as a result of their incompetence. On [the] 18th September I called for lockdown based on Sage....
