UK lawmaker and shadow health secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, said on Tuesday that the Conservative government should try to correct its wrong-doings in handling the COVID-19 pandemic instead of focusing on "fighting and backbiting" over recent leaks and claims about Prime Minister Boris Johnson's conduct
LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th April, 2021) UK lawmaker and shadow health secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, said on Tuesday that the Conservative government should try to correct its wrong-doings in handling the COVID-19 pandemic instead of focusing on "fighting and backbiting" over recent leaks and claims about Prime Minister Boris Johnson's conduct.
Johnson and his government are facing mounting pressure to answer allegations of cronyism and ethical breaches including accusations of favoring friends with contracts relating to the pandemic or that the prime minister had planned to get party donors to fund the refurbishment of his official apartment in Downing Street. A Monday press report quoting Johnson as allegedly saying in October that he would rather see ``bodies pile high in their thousands'' than impose a third national lockdown on the country was the latest addition to the scandals. Johnson denies saying that.
"It's crazy, when the country is in such a mess this is what they are focusing on, this fighting and backbiting. Surely the country deserves better than this," Ashworth told Sky news.
The lawmaker claimed that not paying sick pay, not having the proper Personal Protection Equipment for health staff earlier and delaying going into COVID-19 lockdowns were among the things the government got "desperately wrong" during the pandemic.
He also mentioned the fact that 400,000 people with cancer, heart diseases and children with eating disorders have been waiting over a year for treatment.
"These are the issues I want the prime minister and the cabinet to focus on," the shadow health secretary stressed.
Meanwhile, lawmakers from six opposition parties are seeking permission from the speaker of the House of Commons to introduce a vote to refer the prime minister to the Committee of Privileges for "its consistent failure to be honest" in parliament, the Independent newspaper has reported.
