06 December 2023 , 19:58
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Bereaved families of Covid have spoken of their "disgust" at Boris Johnson, who they accused of being "callous and disrespectful of people's lives" throughout the pandemic.
The former PM gave evidence to the Covid Inquiry today over the decisions he made as he led the UK through one of the worst crises in living memory. Those who lost loved ones said "everyone in the country has, in some way, been let down" by Mr Johnson, who was supposed to keep the country safe during the pandemic.
Protestors disrupted his evidence as he took to the stand, holding up signs saying, "the dead can't hear your apologies", as he attempted to apologise for his mistakes. Protestor Fran Hall, 62, from Denham, Bucks, whose husband Steve Mead, 65, died three weeks after they married in September 2020, accused Mr Johnson of "trying very hard to control the narrative".
"We didn't want him to be grandstanding in the hearing room today making an apology to bereaved people and then carrying on giving his evidence without us making our feelings heard,” she told the Mirror.
Boris Johnson was accused of being 'callous and disrespectful of people's lives' (James Veysey/REX/Shutterstock)The Mirror spoke to people who attended Mr Johnson's evidence session at the Covid Inquiry, including those who lost loved ones or have suffered from life-changing impacts from long Covid. Many were unable to get a seat in the inquiry room itself and stood outside in the freezing cold clutching photos of their loved ones as they demanded justice and for the mistakes of the pandemic to never be repeated. Here are their stories.
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We are 'traumatised by his cavalier, callous, cruel decisions'
Susie Flintham, 46, from Sunderland, lost her dad Howard Crozier, 81, a retired school teacher, at the start of the pandemic. He went into hospital on March 15 2020 with pneumonia. On Sunday, March 22, the day before the first lockdown, Ms Flintham said she turned up at the hospital to be told a Covid patient had been admitted onto her dad’s ward and she couldn’t see him. Three days later, she received a call to say her dad was getting end-of-life care for Covid.
Ms Flintham, who was able to visit her dad to say goodbye, said: “He was almost unrecognisable. He couldn't speak. I don't even know if he knew it was me because I was in PPE. There were eight people on his ward and they were all Covid patients and the sound of that rattling breath in their chest.
"It was something I will never, ever forget. By the following Saturday, he was dead. I got the phone call. He died in the middle of the night completely by himself,” she said.
Susie Flintham said the former PM was 'behaving like this is the Boris show' (TIM ANDERSON)Ms Flintham said her dad died because there was no “coherent” government advice for hospitals at the time. “How do you live with that? How do you reconcile that? My dad was stolen. I am so angry that Boris Johnson is behaving like this is the Boris show. I mean, that's how he governed.
"The fact he sneaked in here at 7am to avoid us. The fact he's already briefed out what he's going to say, for him, it's about rescuing his reputation and there is no humanity there,” she said. “I want him to face the fact that human beings died and a lot of us have been left traumatised because of cavalier, callous, cruel decisions he made.”
'I feel like an idiot for following the rules when they were partying'
Louise Brown, 43, from Sunderland, lost her sister, 39, who she did not want to name, in February 2021. Her sister, who was a vulnerable person, went into intensive care in November 2020 after catching Covid. She recovered and was discharged in time for Christmas.
Louise Brown, who lost her sister to Covid, held a sign and booed as Boris Johnson left the inquiry (TIM ANDERSON)She said: “Two families were allowed to meet where I lived. So my parents went to see her. But if I went it would have been a third family. It just sounds ridiculous now but they said, 'No one's going to know, why don't you just come? You’re a single person, who cares?' And I was such a stickler for the rules. I said, 'No, because that’s breaking the rules' and then I never saw her again because she died."
They then faced all the “horrible rules” with strict restrictions on how many attendees they could have at the funeral and wake. “And then and then you find out that they were actually partying. I was following the rules. I want to hear what he's got to say about that. I feel like an idiot for following the rules,” she said.
'I took a picnic chair and sat outside her care home in the rain and the cold'
Jane Wier-Wierzbowski, 68, lost her mum Patricia Smalley, 91, who had Alzheimer's disease, and was in a care home after suffering a stroke. She said the rules for care homes - including only being able to communicate with her mum through Skype or through screen - were “draconian” and “heart-breaking”. After being unable to see her mum for so long, Jane was told her mum had caught Covid just days after her 91st birthday. She died two weeks later.
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Jane said it's "painful" knowing about the rule-breaking that went on in No10. In the days leading up to her mum's death, she would sit in the courtyard outside her mum's room at the care home. "I could go outside the door so I took a picnic chair and sat outside in the rain and the cold with my mobile phone. They put her phone in a plastic bag on her shoulder. I can't imagine what must have been going through her mind at what was happening. And I talked to her. I sat there for hours freezing," she said.
Jane Wier-Wierzbowski called care home restrictions 'draconian' after she was stopped from seeing her mum (TIM ANDERSON)“It’s even more painful knowing what was going on in Downing Street. I’m referring mainly to the parties. But we heard from Helen McNamara [the former Deputy Cabinet Secretary] the other day that there was a rule-breaking every single day in Downing Street and I couldn't hold my dying mum's hand", she said.
“I want to know why on Boris Johnson’s watch, thousands of people, including my mum, died unnecessarily. I think he was an appalling leader. We've heard all about his dithering and bluster. How we could have had someone like that in charge of our country in the biggest crisis of our lifetimes is shameful.”
'A care home nurse rang me in tears and told me they're dropping like flies'
Deborah Doyle, 56, from Wolverhampton, lost her mum Sylvia Griffiths, 76, who lived in a care home, in April 2020. “I wasn't allowed to visit her and the care home didn't have anything in place where you could have video calls or anything like that. They lost a third of the residents in my mum’s care home in the first quarter.
"A nurse that was with her was a really stoic, really strong man and he rang me on the day that my mum died and he was absolutely in tears. He was a broken man. He said, ‘Deborah, they’re dropping like flies. I don't know what to do.’”
Deborah Doyle warned Boris Johnson to cut 'all the buffoonery' and be 'open and honest' (TIM ANDERSON)Commenting on a lack of urgency from the government at the start of the pandemic, Ms Doyle said: “I had actually come back from South Africa in February. And when I got to the airport, there were people literally in hazmat suits, taking your temperature, asking loads of questions. It was all over the news. And I fully expected when I came back to Britain, for us to be in the same situation, but there was nothing in place.
“We need the truth to come out because the main reason for this inquiry is that lessons will be learned. It's not about blaming anyone, but Boris Johnson needs to be open and honest today. And not put the spin on it and all the bluster and all the buffoonery. We're talking about people's lives here, and this will happen again, it will. So we've got to be really mindful of that.”
'I got so close to dying I feel a duty to try to speak up for the dead'
Author Michael Rosen, 77, who almost died from Covid, said he wanted to make sure the voices of the dead weren’t lost. “I've had three years of a complete change in my body and my way of life. I can't see with my left eye really and I can't really hear with my left ear because of microbleeds in my brain that knocked them out,” he said.
“The dead people can't speak so there's a way in which their anger, their sadness, we only can hear from the bereaved families. In a way I feel duty bound, that I got so close to it, because of the extent of my illness, to try and speak for them. It's a mixture of sadness and anger.”
The former Children’s Laureate said an apology from Boris Johnson was “utterly meaningless”. “What he apologises for usually are the consequences of his actions on people. What he does is he says: ‘Sorry, you're feeling bad.’ What he doesn't do is say sorry for his own actions because that's called taking responsibility,” he said.
Author Michael Rosen, who almost died from Covid, said Boris Johnson's apology was 'utterly meaningless' (TIM ANDERSON)Mr Rosen referred to claims Mr Johnson didn’t care if the elderly died, including the allegation he believed Covid was “nature’s way of dealing with old people”. “It's outrageous that people were sitting there in No10 regarding people over the age of say 70… that we were finished.
"The attitude, the indifference, to millions of people in the country, as if somehow or other it wouldn't matter if we died. And indeed, many of us did. I mean, in my intensive care ward, 42% of us died. I was very lucky to live."
'If I ever get married or have children, she's not going to be there'
Charlotte Lynch, 32, from, London, lost her mum Sue Lynch, 67, who caught Covid in early 2021 in hospital after having shielded for more than a year. “She'd had the vaccine the week before. I remember the day she had it and thinking: ‘She's got through this. She's going to be fine now,’” Charlotte said. A few days after her mum tested positive, she was put on an incubator, which she was then on for a few weeks before she died.
Charlotte Lynch said her mum was 'absolutely terrified' when she was left alone in hospital suffering with Covid (TIM ANDERSON)Unable to visit her mum until she was dying, Charlotte said it feels like she lost her mum in one of the most traumatic ways. “I was ringing all hours of the day in the middle of the night just waking up being like I need to know if my mum's still alive,” she said. “My mum was absolutely terrified. I got a message from her saying: ‘I'm so scared. I know I'm going to die.’”
She went on: “It wasn't her time. I was 29. She was 67. If I ever get married, if I ever have children, she's not going to be there for it and then Boris Johnson has the audacity to allegedly say that people have had their time, or people were going to die anyway. My mum wasn't going to die anyway. She was 67 years old. She'd just retired. I want him to acknowledge what he's done as well. There's no remorse. I mean, he's going in at seven o'clock in the morning today to avoid us all. What kind of person does that?"
'He just wants to preserve his reputation and keep Boris Johnson PLC alive'
Alan Handley, 72, lost his wife Susan, 69, in November 2020 after catching Covid in hospital after going in for routine treatments. “My daughter and myself were allowed to sit at her side and she hung on for four days. It was all very cold, very clinical. There was no empathy. We were not told what to do.
"We just walked out of the hospital. It was basically empty. There was tumbleweed blowing through the hospital. Wards were closed and that's the start of the journey for answers and accountability, which is what the bereaved need now and ownership from those who were responsible,” he said.
“I'm not expecting a lot from Boris Johnson, other than his normal bravado. I expect him to go on about how wonderful he has behaved and how responsible he was for vaccines. I'm not expecting anything different from Boris. An apology will just be a shallow promise. It's more about Boris Johnson preserving his reputation and keeping Johnson PLC alive. In November, this was the second wave. Lessons should have been learned and clearly they weren't.”
'My partner gave his life to the NHS and the Government did not protect him'
Lena Vincent, 64, from Stoke-on-Trent, lost her partner Patrick McManus, 60, who had been working in a Covid ward in Stafford Hospital, in April 2020. “Boris Johnson is an absolutely despicable man, who should have said earlier and locked us down earlier,” she said. “If he had, then I think Patrick would have been alive today. He gave his life for the NHS. He gave his life for his patients and he’s left me on my own which shouldn't have happened.”
Ms Vincent said the things that Boris Johnson has said over the years have been “despicable”. “No family should go through what we've had to go through. We shouldn't have to be here today for an inquiry if he had been honest at the very beginning, instead of allegedly saying ‘let the bodies pile high’”.
Lena Vincent described Boris Johnson as 'an absolutely despicable man' (TIM ANDERSON)She said the Government did “nowhere near enough” to protect NHS workers in the pandemic. “There were hundreds of nurses who were asked to come back to work. Patrick has MS and a cancer diagnosis and he shouldn't have been at work but he did what he was told. I'm just angry.
"We've all had to come down here to get our voices heard and we're all suffering and still suffering. Even the timing of this, it’s not that far off from Christmas. We're all here. It's been an absolute nightmare. An absolute nightmare,” she said.
Ms Vincent said nurses are “still suffering” today. “Boris Johnson hasn't done enough. I don't think he will ever do enough. What can he say, if he says anything at all, because he's lied all this length of time, so what makes you think he's not lying today? Him and the rest of his cronies.”
'How callous and disrespectful of people's lives - it's totally disgusting'
Peter Began, 69, Wimbledon, who lost people close to him during the pandemic and has suffered from long Covid, stood with a photo of Boris Johnson on a sign that said: “It’s Nature’s way of dealing with old people.” The former government chief scientist Patrick Vallance suggested the former PM believed this about Covid in a diary entry, which was seen by the inquiry earlier this month.
Speaking about his sign, Mr Began said: “I was spoilt for choice with quotes. That's one of the quotes from somebody who's given evidence here. They heard Johnson say: “It's nature's way of dealing with old people.” I mean, how callous and disrespectful of people's lives is that? It's totally disgusting. I could have put ‘let the bodies pile high.’ There's a few things he allegedly said which are beyond belief - from somebody who was supposed to be protecting us in the UK and it just didn't happen.”
A bus with the alleged quote from Boris Johnson, 'let the bodies pile high', was stationed outside the inquiry (TIM ANDERSON)Mr Began has suffered from long Covid, after having a mini-stroke in my right eye while he had the virus. “But I'm here today mainly because of the 233,000 deaths which didn't need to happen basically if Johnson had acted swiftly and followed scientific advice as he should have done, and also looked at how other countries who dealt with epidemics before, how they were handling things, you know, they were wearing masks, tests and trace, clamping down on flights coming into the country,” he said. “All of that should have been done here. It wasn't because of this lackadaisical attitude, particularly of Boris Johnson.”
Mr Began’s sign also labelled Mr Johnson as “criminally negligent”. “You can’t be responsible for thousands of deaths and not expect consequences. The guy seems to just walk away every time scot free and makes a fortune around the world from speaking engagements. That's not good enough in this situation. This is beyond that. There really needs to be justice,” he said.
'I want the Government to push much more money into research into post-viral illness'
Maddy Corper, 59, from Borehamwood, Herts, was working as a freight train driver during the pandemic. Carrying a sign that says “Long Covid put me in this wheelchair”, she said: “I was a key worker. I caught Covid at work in May 2020. I had a mild illness and thought I could go back to work but two days later, the long Covid just hit me.
"It was like a switch was flipped inside me and I never recovered. I experience overwhelming fatigue, breathlessness, and lots of pain. But the worst thing is if I try to push myself to get better, I get worse.”
Ms Corper went on: “I got the impression that Boris Johnson didn't think very much of it and didn't listen to the scientific advice and just enjoyed himself with parties while we suffered and people died. So I wasn't impressed.”
She said she “doubts he even realises” the impact Long Covid has had on people’s lives. “I feel all kinds of emotions. There are lots of people here who have lost people. Frustration, anger, sadness, all kinds of emotions.
"I just hope they've learned their lessons because there'll be another bug like this at some point and I hope they're ready for it this time. An apology would be good, but it won't make me get back to work. I just want the Government to push much more money into research into post-viral illness and try to get a cure for this thing so I can get back to work,” she said.
The Mirror spoke to people outside Boris Johnson's evidence session who have suffered from life-changing impacts of the pandemic (TIM ANDERSON)'Johnson may try to bluster and justify his decisions, but the proof is irrefutable'
Lobby Akinnola, whose dad Femi, 60, died with Covid-19 in April 2020, gave a speech on behalf of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK halfway through Mr Johnson’s evidence on Wednesday. “The evidence from this Inquiry has been worse than what bereaved families feared was happening at the time. Back then, we were often criticised for being ‘unfair’ on the Government when we raised our concerns. It’s clear now we weren’t being anywhere near critical enough,” he said.
“Johnson may try to bluster and justify his decisions, but the proof is irrefutable. We suffered one of the world's worst death tolls, and one of the most unequal pandemics. Everyone in the country has, in some way, been let down by Johnson's handling of Covid-19.”
Mr Akinnola criticised Mr Johnson not learning lessons from the first wave of Covid in Spring 2020, saying: “He refused to meet with bereaved families, or to hold a rapid review, from which lessons could have been learnt. Instead, we repeated all of the same mistakes again. I can’t tell you how painful it was to see so many people joining this group in that second wave, with stories so similar to the one my family had suffered.”
He added: “Families like mine will have to live with the cost of that inhumanity for the rest of our lives. Meanwhile Boris Johnson has a new handsomely paid TV show on GB News, and is paid hundreds of thousands as an after dinner speaker. They ‘fail upwards’ into more money and power, whilst families like ours have been left ripped apart by their callousness and brutality.”