Why the electorate must remember who is responsible for UK's Covid-19 tragedy - letter

As of Monday, June 29, the UK has the worst record in the G7 countries for deaths from Covid-19.

No matter how you look at it, that is a shocking statistic.

The government would have us believe they are doing a good job, but the facts tell a different story.

It’s old news now, but the government’s delay on implementing measures to stop the spread of the virus at the outset was woefully inadequate.

Allowing the Cheltenham festival to go ahead, with 250,000-plus attendees over four days.

Allowing the Liverpool v Atletico Madrid football match at Anfield, with 3,000 Madrid fans attending from a country already in lockdown, plus the bungling of the personal protective equipment imports from Turkey while selling our own manufactured PPE abroad.

The lack of an operating track and trace system even now.

Massaging the figures on the number of tests conducted by counting the ones yet to be delivered.

On top of that we’ve had the daily briefings, or to be more accurate party political broadcasts, conducted by an array of ministers and aided by a variety of experts, many of whom were mysteriously dropped when they disagreed with the government’s ‘spin’ on statistics never to be heard from again.

Now we have justifiable public outrage at the number of people ignoring all the advice on social distancing and travelling to beaches, parks and beauty spots.

Who could have foreseen that?

It’s not as if Dominic Cummings never did anything wrong, or Boris Johnson supported him in breaking the rules.

I just hope the electorate remember who was responsible for this tragedy and that he and his cohorts are held to account when this is all over.

DV Vliet

Dronfield