Issued on: Modified:
The British government came under sustained pressure over all aspects of its coronavirus response on Wednesday as members of parliament got their first major opportunity in a month to hold it to account.
Advertising
Read more
With the latest hospital death toll from the virus rising to 16,272 in England alone and persistent reports of a lack of protective equipment for staff in hospitals and care homes, stand-in leader Dominic Raab faced a barrage of tough questions.
“Somethings going wrong,” opposition leader Keir Starmer said during the weekly Prime Ministers Questions session, where Raab was deputising for Boris Johnson who is recovering from Covid-19 at his country residence.
“And theres a pattern emerging here. We were slow into lockdown, slow on testing, slow on protective equipment, and are slow to take up these offers (to supply equipment) from British firms,” said Starmer, the new leader of the Labour Party.
Johnson initially stopped short of imposing stringent controls seen elsewhere in Europe as the coronavirus spread, but he later closed down the country when projections showed a quarter of a million people could die in the United Kingdom.
All week Ive heard from the frontline, from care workers, who
are frankly desperate for tests for their residents and for themselves.Why isn't the Government using all the tests available every day? #PMQs pic.twitter.com/W18K4Dl8zp
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) April 22, 2020
He faced a call for an independent inquiry into his and the governments handling of the outbreak after ministers struggled to explain shocking death rates, limited testing and reported shortages of protective kit in the places where they are most needed.
“Will the government commit itself now, for the future, to an independent judge-led inquiry into how this crisis has been handled?” said Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, a smaller opposition party.
Raab rejected his call.
“I have to say I wont take up his offer of committing to a public inquiry. I think that there are definRead More – Source
[contf]
[contfnew]
france24
[contfnewc]
[contfnewc]
