Boris Bluster Unravels - Dangerously

After Germany eased its lockdown recently, the rate of Covid-19 infection began to climb. It has now gone back over 1.0, and some return of restrictions seems inevitable. That information was there for our own Government to consider as they crafted their message to the British people. Yet they either disregarded it, or, more likely, just messed up.

What day is it, Dom? No pressure, now

The urging yesterday evening by alleged Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson to those who could go back to work to do so has had a worrying effect: demonstrating that, for many people, avoiding public transport is not possible, we have seen crowded buses in Greater Manchester, and heavily loaded Tube trains in London.

Three weeks from now, the prospect of a further spike in Covid-19 infections looks increasingly likely, and with it, a conjunction of more personal misery with confirmation, if it were needed, that Bozo The Clown and his cabinet are terminally inept, unfit to run the country, cannot be trusted with public safety, and should not pretend otherwise.

Worse, Bozo’s broadcast has had to be explained, then clarified, then explained all over again. Ministers and back benchers are contradicting themselves, and one another. We need only consider the travails of one minister, and one back bencher, to demonstrate this.

Dominic Raab, Bozo’s de facto deputy (God help us) had tripped himself up over the new rules. Dan Bloom of the Mirror: “Dominic Raab has just told [BBC Radio 4] Today you CAN meet two relatives at the same time in the park, if you're two metres apart - this is the opposite of what we've been told so far. We've been told it has to just be one person from each household, no more”. Robert Peston of ITV had also been told that.

“Now I really am confused. [Dominic Raab] just said that we can see more than one other person from different household outdoors, somewhere like a park. That is what it sounded like on [BBC Radio 4 Today]. Mum and dad can be met at same time, he said”.

No they can’t: Nick Eardley of the BBC had the clarification. “Clarification from UK Govt: You can meet one person from outside household in park etc if you follow social distancing You CANNOT meet two - such as both parents - at the same time. Applies to England only”. Adam Bienkov of Business Insider mused "So the government now says (contrary to Raab earlier) that you can only meet *one parent* in the park but not both. It remains unclear whether one parent can leave the park before swapping with the other parent, or whether you have to meet different parents in different parks”. Farcical.

David Allen Green observed “Raab is - genuinely - making this up as he goes along. This is based on neither law nor guidance, nor even last night's gibberish from the prime minister”. And after Ian Dunt commented “I guess what I wasn't expecting was for the government advice on covid to be put out in the form of a riddle” he asked “What policy has four points in the morning, two points in the afternoon, and no point in the evening?”

Meanwhile, Piers Morgan unloaded on hapless back bencher Andrew Bridgen: “You have just told me to do something that I'm not allowed to do”. What was going on? Jessica Simor might have discovered the answer. “Was [Boris Johnson]’s speech just another attempt by a PM to handle internal battles within the Tory party? #BrexitShambles all over again?” Except this time with lots of dead bodies. The whole situation is screwed.

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