Boris Johnson wanted to be infected with Covid-19 live on TV to ‘show it’s nothing to be scared of’ and referred to the virus as ‘Kung-Flu’, Dominic Cummings is expected claim today.
MPs are bracing for what has been dubbed ‘Domageddon’ when the PM’s former chief adviser will make a much-anticipated appearance before two parliamentary committees on Wednesday.
Mr Cummings will lift the lid on the behind-the-scenes details of the government’s handling of the pandemic, accusing Boris Johnson of having no ‘serious plan’ to protect the most vulnerable.
The former top aide is set to allege that the PM refused to order a second lockdown in September because he claimed Covid is ‘only’ killing 80-year-olds.
He is expected to accuse Mr Johnson of being responsible for ‘thousands of deaths’ by delaying the winter lockdown amid a second devastating wave.
The PM will also be criticised for reacting too slowly to the pandemic as it took a firm hold over Europe in February last year because he was on a ‘prolonged holiday’ with fiancee Carrie Symonds.
According to the Mail, Mr Cummings will claim the prime minister said on ‘repeated’ occasions that he was willing to be injected with coronavirus by the chief medical officer to prove that it posed no siginificant risk.
He will reportedly allege the PM said: ‘I’m going to get Chris Whitty to inject me with it live on national TV so everyone can see it’s nothing to be scared of.’
In April, last year, the prime minister was sent to intensive care after suffering with the virus and credited the NHS for ‘saving my life’ after a week-long stay.
A source close to Mr Cummings said the PM referred to Covid-19 as ‘Kung-Flu’ – a phrase coined by former president Donald Trump in an attempt to blame China for the pandemic.
The insider told the Mail: ‘From March through to the autumn, the PM said we should never have locked down. That was why he was so reluctant to do it again in November.
‘He said, “the big danger is not Kung-Flu but the harm caused in trying to stop it. I was right all along and should not have been pushed into the first lockdown. The economic damage caused by lockdowns is more damaging than the loss of life caused by Covid”.’
Downing Street declined to comment directly on the claims.
A No 10 spokesperson said: ‘Throughout this pandemic, the Government’s priority has been to save lives, protect the NHS and support people’s jobs and livelihoods across the United Kingdom.
‘There is a huge task for this Government to get on with. We are entirely focused on recovering from the pandemic, moving through the roadmap and distributing vaccines while delivering on the public’s priorities.’
A second government source also told the Mirror that Mr Johnson had delayed a winter lockdown as he dismissed it as only killing the elderly.
They claimed he added: ‘If I was 80 I wouldn’t care, I’d be more worried about the economy’.
No 10 aides were reportedly concerned that the PM’s hatred of lockdowns would lead to him being regarded as a ‘Grandma killer’ by the public.
The allegations will come as a serious blow to the prime minister, who was recently forced to deny reports that he said he would rather ‘see bodies pile high in their thousands’ than order a third lockdown.
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from metro.co.uk
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