Boris Johnson took a four-day break from official government business at a key period in the UK's Covid preparations, as the NHS prepared to be “overwhelmed” by the virus.
Official disclosure of information for the period in February 2020 – described Covid request as a “lost month” in the country's response to the crisis – it emerged that Johnson had enjoyed an extended break during a six-month holiday at Chevening, a government estate in Kent, where he spent time walking his dog and riding his motorbike.
The former prime minister was questioned about his activities between February 14 and 24, 2020, when he appeared at the inquiry in December 2023. He said: “I haven't had a long holiday. I've been working all the time and the pace has really picked up.”
However, official records of activity appear to contradict the evidence Johnson gave under oath.
The materials show that Johnson did not conduct any official government business on February 15, 16, 17 and 21. Instead, he appears to have spent his time walking his Jack Russell dog Dilyn on Chevening's 1,416-hectare (3,500-acre) property, riding the motorcycle given to him by his now-wife Carrie, and inviting friends and family over for lunches, dinners and sleepovers.
Entries in the logs for February 14-24 show no mention of Johnson working on the Covid response, although he said he discussed the virus during scheduled calls with other world leaders.
The Covid inquiry this week concluded that the UK's response to the virus was “too little, too late” and the introduction of a lockdown just a week earlier, on March 16, could have saved more than 20,000 lives.
He called February 2020 a “lost month” and said the response to the virus was essentially stopped during the six-month holiday. The report added that under Johnson there was a “toxic and chaotic” culture in Downing Street.
It turned out that no cabinet meetings were held from February 14 to 25. Johnson was not informed “to any significant extent” about the virus during this period and did not receive daily updates, the report said.
It added: “Mr Johnson should have realized earlier that this was an emergency situation requiring an urgent response from the Prime Minister's leadership.”
Details of Johnson's activities are revealed in an official government document contained in the Boris File. cache of leaked documents. The files were reviewed by the Guardian after they were received by the transparency group. Distributed denial of secrets.
On February 21, while Johnson was cycling and walking in Chevening, the British government was informed of a new cluster of 16 cases in northern Italy. Officials were told seven patients were in intensive care and none had traveled to China, raising fears the virus could no longer be contained.
On the same day, NHS England noted that “even with continued mitigation work” it could be “overwhelmed” before the virus reaches its peak unless the government takes “significant action to flatten the curve”, but lockdown measures have not been applied in England for more than four weeks.
Johnson was not briefed and logs show he did not join any calls regarding the escalation in Europe. However, they show he enjoyed a four-hour dinner with Katherine Humphrey, a friend of his wife who will later be a witness at the couple's May 2021 wedding.
The inquiry, led by retired judge and fellow judge Heather Hallett, said the outbreak in Italy “should have prompted urgent planning” in the UK, including by the devolved administrations. However, the report added: “Instead, governments did not take the pandemic seriously enough until it was too late. February 2020 was a lost month.”
The files show Johnson only worked two full days during the Chevening break, on February 19 and 20. On February 20, he had a 20-minute conversation with US President Donald Trump, during which he said the virus and its origins were discussed. The records say this was followed by a three-hour dinner with Henry Newman, Simone Finn and Josh Grimstone, former government officials who are believed to have been close friends of his wife.
According to the documents, on February 18, Johnson worked for only 40 minutes, joining a conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Johnson told the inquiry that one of the purposes of the call was to “compare opinions” on Covid.
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He missed a meeting of Cobra's emergency committee, which was convened to discuss Covid and was chaired by then health secretary Matt Hancock.
While Johnson entertained his late mother Charlotte Johnson and his now mother-in-law Josephine McAfee over lunch in Chevening, the government's chief medical officer Chris Whitty told a Cobra meeting that it was possible the Covid outbreak could become a global pandemic.
On February 22, Johnson worked on his ministerial boxes for about 90 minutes before hosting his family at his Downing Street flat and walking through St James's Park as the Italian government prepared to impose a lockdown on parts of the country following the first Covid death. Johnson then spent time shopping in Sevenoaks before returning to Chevening.
He returned to Downing Street on February 23, spending several hours in ministerial boxes. At this point there were 13 confirmed cases of Covid in the UK.
The government announced the first lockdown in England on 23 March. By this time, the number of confirmed cases of the virus in the UK had reached 6,726, and the number of deaths was 336. Between March 2020 and May 2023, Covid was listed on the death certificates of around 227,000 people.
Joe Hirst, spokesman for Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK, said the Guardian revelations were “horrifying” and provided “further evidence that he [Johnson] did not take Covid seriously, ignored the warnings he received and put himself ahead of the country at the time. This further confirms the report released on Thursday.”
He added: “It appears he needs to answer questions about how truthful he was before the investigation.”
Hirst said the Guardian report described “gross misconduct in public service and a complete abdication of power.” [Johnson’s] role and his main goal as Prime Minister is to ensure the safety of people. This is exactly how families feel, and this is what the investigation showed.
“It will be devastating for families and terrible. It further reinforces the reasons why they called for an investigation in the first place.”
Johnson declined to comment.
Additional reporting by Donna Ferguson
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