BORIS JOHNSON has been accused of mishandling the UK\u2019s response to the coronavirus crisis, but Downing Street has published an extraordinary statement defending the Prime Minister.<\/p>\n
Last night the Sunday Times published a damning article of Boris Johnson\u2019s response to the coronavirus pandemic. The lengthy article stated the Prime Minister did not attend five emergency cobra meetings in January and February, prompting Michael Gove to defend the claims this morning.<\/p>\n
The Government was also accused of failing to adequately prepare for a pandemic, especially in regards to the amounts of personal protective equipment (PPE) stockpiled and failing to organise mass testing quick enough.<\/p>\n
But Downing Street has shot down the claims and accused the article of being riddled with \u201cfalsehoods\u201d and errors\u201d.<\/p>\n
A Government spokesman said: \u201cThis article contains a series of falsehoods and errors and actively misrepresents the enormous amount of work which was going on in government at the earliest stages of the coronavirus outbreak.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an unprecedented global pandemic and we have taken the right steps at the right time to combat it, guided at all times by the best scientific advice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Government has been working day and night to battle against coronavirus, delivering a strategy designed at all times to protect our NHS and save lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur response has ensured that the NHS has been given all the support it needs to ensure everyone requiring treatment has received it, as well as providing protection to businesses and reassurance to workers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Prime Minister has been at the helm of the response to this, providing leadership during this hugely challenging period for the whole nation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The spokesman also responded to claims the UK sent 279,000 items of its depleted PPE stockpile to China earlier this year.
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He said: \u201cThe equipment was not from the pandemic stockpile.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe provided this equipment to China at the height of their need and China has since reciprocated our donation many times over.<\/p>\n
\u201cBetween April 2 and April 15 we have received over 12 million pieces of PPE in the UK from China.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Department for Health began work on boosting PPE stocks in January, before the first confirmed UK case.\u201d
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