THE fallout from Dominic Cummings accusations and the state of the Conservative party were the issues discussed by columnists in the newspapers.
The Daily Mail
Janet Street-Porter said to dismiss Cummings ‘explosive’ testimony as bitter score-settling would be a huge mistake.
“He saw it all at first hand - the U turns, the blind refusal to focus on the impending tragedy, the inability to grasp detail and make tough decisions,” she said. “The obsession with how things would play in the media, the narcissism of a Prime Minister who wants to be loved at all costs.”
Where was the leadership she asked.
“Hancock - who Cummings says lied over and over again - strenuously denies the accusations and now said he only promised to start testing them once he actually had the tests,” she said. “But the facts aren’t in his favour - senior civil servants, scientists and medical experts all agree - Cummings is only telling us what we always suspected.
“We must get to the bottom of what went wrong and those culpable must be removed from office. If another crisis comes along tomorrow do you really believe the government will be any better prepared?”
The Daily Express
Ross Clark asked if there was any sight more ridiculous than that of Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner now treating Dominic Cummings as a fountain of wisdom.
“This is a man she spent much of last year ridiculing, telling us we couldn’t believe a word he said. Yet suddenly he is a great sage, whose “serious” and “devastating” revelations about the Government’s handling of Covid-19 should be taken at face value,” he said.
He said it was undeniable that the Government had made mistakes in handling Covid and the greatest was discharging NHS patients into care homes without testing.
“Hopefully the inquiry will do a better job of exposing bad policy than has Labour’s frontbench, members of which have provided little in the way of useful opposition over the past year.”
The Guardian
Andy Beckett said British politics feels more dominated by one party than at any time since New Labour’s peak years almost a quarter of a century ago.
“Boris Johnson seems to be leading a breakout from his party’s usual ideological and territorial zones, into a wider political space where a British prime minister can enjoy rare freedom of action and their party can shake off restrictive old associations,” he said. “ Cummings is not a Tory, and that surely sharpened his select committee testimony this week. His contempt for Hancock, and his comparison of the prime minister to an out-of-control shopping trolley echoed things he had said about other Conservative politicians. Only an overconfident party allows such an outsider to become an insider.
“When the government’s Covid bills come due, Johnson will have to do more choosing between interests and policies than he has so far.”
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