Best bits: Chris Whitty throws Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson under the bus at Covid Inquiry

[@helenamcginty4920]

It is actually so refreshing to see professionals discussing a topic without any showboating. Naming noone called Boris.

[@prideofdurham4776]

No-one called Bozo gave him a knighthood.Will Twatty return it? Do me a favour!

[@Lynnefromlyn]

@@prideofdurham4776Tory boy fan…back under the bridge.

[@The_First_Sean]

@@Lynnefromlyntaking a bath under a waterfall of shit again, aren’t we Britannia?

[@ragdollkid1338]

So refreshing to gear a scientist talk. Honest about where he felt he could have done better, knowledgeable and reflective, clear about how policy was being set

[@segue2ant395]

I found it refreshing to hear someone say 'that was my fault' - when they weren't being accused of anything. Man made an error, owned it. You know for a fact that when Bojo and Richie take the stand it'll just be 'none of this was my fault!' 😭

[@BlastastiC]

"This was a serious error that I made" - something you will never hear any politician say

[@billyb6043]

Yep....integrity is in very short supply amongst MPs and ministers

[@nigellee9824]

That’s the point, even the experts hadn’t a clue what to do, they had no experience of anything like this in their professional lives, and most was over reaction and alarmingly wrong, and the government is more than politicians..Chris whitty was incredibly wishy washy, without any gravitas or imagination

[@realitycheck4086]

If we make a serious error we pay heavily for it - will Whitless pay? Admitting to a crime does not make you less guilty. No excuses.

[@chiselcheswick5673]

So what would you prefer... Nobody put themselves forward to try and do the right thing in case they get it wrong?? It was a far more complex issue than any of us could ever hope to imagine. Typical of some of the public.... Blame the government for doing nothing... Then blame the government for doing something they don't agree with.

[@vomgrady]

Maybe if Whiity passed on the information with children's songs and sock puppets he could have got his point across to the "Government"

[@markunger1098]

Still too difficult for Boris to understand! He’s denser than cement!

[@vomgrady]

@@markunger1098 You are totally right.

[@xwize]

I'm sure he can talk at length about ancient greece which is all you need to pass yourself off as intelligent in certain elite circles. God what happened to Britain, even our posh lot are thicker than jam.

[@neilthompson8668]

Whity should have explain it in Latin, then BJ may have taken him seriously

[@jak6326]

I wonder if they considered flashcards?

[@morzee94]

I respect that he’s open and honest about his own mistakes and failings. No doubt he was doing his best at the time but now it’s about learning from the mistakes for the future. It’s a shame the politicians are completely incapable of admitting mistakes.

[@illegalsmirf]

Is he f*k

[@SamHarrisonMusic]

There is something hugely refreshing in someone taking responsibility for their actions in 2023…

[@xwize]

he's a scientist, its impossible to become one without a sufficient level of humility

[@street-level]

@@xwize and honesty. You cannot lie to real things, only to people.

[@marksykes5434]

You mean the tory politicians don’t you ?

[@annepoitrineau5650]

he is capable of reflecting on past actions and assessing his mistakes in order to not repeat them. This is an example to the nation. All kids should watch.

[@InnuendoXP]

@@VirtuaDrummer how would his resignation have helped? By making a statement? The British press would've swept that under the rug with barely a peep & the majority would hardly notice. By remaining in post he could at least try to have some positive influence by persisting in trying to get something through those thick toff skulls to stop public policy being as bad as it might've otherwise been, there's no guarantee that his replacement would be any better.

[@kille-4B]

Next time: “This is a new situation”

[@jaydenmasters2888]

🤔 more like a criminal on trial thats had a lot of time to prepare his narrative.

[@realitycheck4086]

Admitting to crime does not make you less guilty. Whitless' actions led to people dying. Whitless' manipulative reflections will not bring my relatives back to life.

[@dazzwsmith]

Must be hard being the smartest man in the room. Standing next to Boris must have been crippling.

[@ragdollkid1338]

That would be cowardly to walk away at the time when the country was in crisis. He stayed to do his best to steer the correct direction. I doubt anyone could have done any better with Boris and the number 10 team

[@jimbowers8278]

@@ragdollkid1338 That back room photo of him leaning forward with fist clenched while Johnson, Cummings and Hancock look on with "wtf?" faces painted a picture.

[@InnuendoXP]

@@VirtuaDrummer How would his resignation been a benefit? You know the media would've swept that under the rug with as little fanfare as they possibly could. In post he could potentially at least try to have some positive influence & get something through the thick toff skulls.

[@Fortune-z1i]

Whitty and Vallance did not even challenge Johnson’s appalling statement that he shook hands with virus sufferers - they merely both responded to it by by chorusing ‘wash your hands.’ When the public were being informed as to the latest developments in daily press conferences surely they had a duty to interrupt the person recently referred to as a ‘certified halfwit’ with a swift rebuttal.

[@janwilson3898]

Gota say he did look uncomfortable every night on t.v, like he didnt want to be there

[@proskipper1]

Getting all the big calls right and following the science - Bollocks!

[@VultureUk-Rich]

Nah just the money

[@DeniseWilliams-jr5xo]

I'm afraid the Tories really don't care about the ordinary people and are only concerned about the rich. They didn't give a toss about us and hoped we'd all die. They're still the same now Sunak is no better than Johnson and Truss. However Blowjob took no notice of the science and claimed the credit for the vaccinations when in reality it was the NHS who gave the vaccinations not Blowjob and his rotten crew. They never got anything right. They were far too slow to lock down, failed to close our borders and the apps weren't fit for purpose.

[@VmanVaults]

I was screaming this from the rooftops, but the idiots around me were lapping up all the shite the government were spouting. Getting the big calls right?!? Bollox indeed.

[@meganm1074]

Australian here. It’s strange to me that everyone at the uk inquiry seems to agree on dismissing border closure as a possible tool, to stop or slow down the virus spread. In Australia & New Zealand border closures were very effective for a long time to stop, & then slow down, the spread. It gave time to prepare hospitals & health systems, & also meant we had vaccines by the time borders opened, so deaths were vastly reduced compared to other places.

[@mikesanders8621]

Thankyou for being an Australian who said the words New Zealand without following them with an insult.

[@KenPassey-hd2mc]

It all proves Johnson did not have the skill sets to handle a Pandemic. The only skill set he has/had was to throw millions to his.chums and hope the problem would go away😢😢😢

[@JuliaF60]

Thank you for your service Prof Chris Whitty - and the Covid enquiry. It seems those in the Front Bench who are culpable should be prosecuted but instead remain self serving and change the law to suit themselves.

[@Melsharpe95]

PEOPLE NEED TO GO TO JAIL. No excuses.

[@scrumtious1]

Refreshing to hear a scientist. The scientific method is to acknowledge and learn from mistakes. We would be so much better off if politicians could do the same.

[@nigellee9824]

Politicians were taking advice from people who didn’t have the knowledge in the first place..

[@annieclark5798]

Sage were not scientific it was full of nudge behavioral social science and the epidemiologist. All sadly left wing activists Susan mitchie and the idiot Neil Fergusion who historically has never ever got any previous of models re.otely correct. Look at data of numbers rarely difference to normal corona( cold). Year. Lockdown exacerbated condition. It a white wash nobsence inquiry.

[@FredPerps]

This is genocide, wake up!!

[@abhogal11]

Pointless enquiry, no one will be held to account!

[@1inchPunchBowl]

Come the General Election they will be I hope.

[@vomgrady]

@burger408 please press the edit button to make your comment coherent

[@Thor110]

What about holding the people to account for their idiocy? Since I started double checking the math I realized the general public is far too stupid to comprehend the fact that money doesn't exist...

[@comrade171]

True but at least the lunatics cant keep pretending "We got all the big call right" kind of shit, having the truth out in the open is beneficial

[@Rosskles]

​@@Thor110 What?! The general public weren't making the rules and giving out advice. Also, currencies have existed for all of recorded history, whether it be coinage or goods. The oldest ever recording of human writing is a bill.

[@MrLaking123]

all this is well but will the government who did this will be held accountable and banged up in prison

[@street-level]

No.

[@lyseight1l991]

Pleased that Johnson's attempt to minimise its impact didn't pay off. Imagine, if he was still prime minister what he would be saying to make the evidence appear silly, mistaken or irrelevant. I would rather that some heads rolled but as this is unlikely to happen, I shall be content with people who know their stuff and can reflect on their own behaviour with harsh honesty. It is dizzying as it is so rarely seen in public and for such extended periods.

[@Frithogar]

A list of things that England used to be great at and now is an absolute cluster: engineering, infrastructure building, science, crisis management, sport ...

[@annemoncrieff3875]

Yes litlle emgland meanwhile the Scots r still innovative. Remember do not get the 2 countries mixed up.

[@chrisdickens4268]

Legal sector and financial sector say no, we quite liked feudalism...

[@Frithogar]

@@annemoncrieff3875 Exactly!

[@Dacheerio]

@@annemoncrieff3875 i dont think he mentioned scotland fella

[@StratsRUs]

School ceilings falling through must put extra pressure on a growing mind.

[@TomFegredo]

He's not throwing anyone under the bus, they did it to themselves.

[@buntyjoy1800]

"Eat out to help out' free cough with every reservation

[@adamknight7041]

Hardly "eat out to die out" the Covid bedwetteers rebranded it though was it? 🙄 The hospitality industry would be a thing of the past if it wasn't for Sunak's financial input

[@ShaunieDale]

“Eat out to spread it about.” Is a more accurate description.

[@stevejw52]

Is "exponential growth" such a difficult thing to grasp? Surely someone in politics should be familiar with the idea of compound interest - it's essentially a very similar thing.

[@paulphillips675]

Perhaps they should have had it explained it in terms of how exponential growth in votes for labour would affect their chances of staying in power - they would have understood then

[@peterhemmings2929]

Johnson couldn't even get the idea of the case fatality rate of 0.04 (i.e. 1 in 25) and he was convinced that it meant 0.04% (i.e. 1 in 2500)

[@nightjaronthegate]

Exponential growth in the number of infected people is nonsense that assumes nobody has been exposed to the virus without being infected and that everyone is equally susceptible. In reality the most susceptible tend to be infected early, and as the number of infections rises, the proportion of people with immunity among the uninfected and recovered group increases and the infection rate slows down. The entire approach to Covid was disastrous authoritarianism and a reversal of everything that was known about how such a virus should be tackled - lockdown, masks, social distancing, furlough, school and shop closures, ventilation of patients, vaccination, vaccine mandates, vaccine passes, suppression of off-label prescribing, censorship of dissent and true information, the whole lot. Freedom was sacrificed to a minor respiratory infection with a 99+% survival rate. The real problem was not the virus but the overreaction to it. The way we should have dealt with Covid was the way we dealt with flu every winter before 2020. Search for "Not 14M Lives Saved, But Over 17M Dead from the mRNA COVID vax" on Substack.

[@nightjaronthegate]

KZbin seems to be censoring. I wrote a comment explaining why exponential growth is a myth and the interventionist approach to dealing with the virus was wrong but you are not allowed to read it. I will try the first part again. Exponential growth in the number of infected people is nonsense that assumes nobody has been exposed to the virus without being infected and that everyone is equally susceptible. In reality the most susceptible tend to be infected early; as the number of infections rises the proportion of people with immunity among the uninfected and recovered group increases, the proportion of vulnerable uninfected people decreases, and the infection rate slows down.

[@bobjary9382]

It doesnt instil trust in the govt when it comes to economic matters does it?

[@brionleverich942]

Its frustrating, Chris Whitty explained herd immunity as not being a reasonable goal. Yet suddenly various MPs pushed it as being the goal. Clearly what was he supposed to do?

[@willlawrence8756]

So, he could have 'phoned Dr Chetty (number on the internet) to compare Boris's approach with the approach of Dr Chetty in S Africa.....he treated each and every 'covid symptoms patient' immediately the patient came to him according to the severity of illness etc (not like lovely Boris...'go home, isolate, see how it goes, we don't know how to treat it..GO TO HOSPITAL IF IT GETS TOO BAD ETC ..A DANGEROUS APPROACH FOR SOME FOLK FOR FLU LIKE SYMPTOMS.). ALL PATIENTS RECOVERED WITHIN A WEEK, 100% SUCCESS, NO NEED FOR HOSPITALISATION/OXYGEN......AND THEREFORE WHEN ASKED WHAT HE THOUGHT OF COVID JABS, GAVE THE OBVIOUS ANSWER THAT HE DIDN'T NEED THEM!! When he contacted medical journals to publish his methods, they refused to publish!! FOLLOW THE MONEY, LUCRATIVE UNSAFE, rushed, FRAUDULENT JABS .....NOT TO MENTION REDICULOUS PCR TEST KITS ETC.....FACE MASKS......ETC . Now we have excess deaths of around 20% per annum in all age groups....YES, ALL AGE GROUPS....draw your own conclusions! See the many you tube interviews Dr Chetty has given......and here's a recent post re excess deaths.....I wonder if this post will be still up in the morning!! kzbin.info/www/bejne/sIDIfXx7bKp0sK8&ab_channel=TheJimmyDoreShow

[@ragdollkid1338]

Exactly, he could only advise

[@JonesySurvived]

Except we now basically have Herd Immunity, which itself is a normal process and not unreasonable at all. Even the vaccine program is ultimately aimed at Herd Immunity. It's the natural end to any disease, barring eradication of the species involved. TOTAL immunity is in fact, the unreasonable aim which the government chose via OVER-vaccination. Children were never in any reasonable danger. Vaccinating them was criminal and only done because of this POLITICAL aversion to acknowledging Herd Immunity as legitimate. Politicians were just routinely weaponizing the term for political aims. And even seasoned Scientists were being misguided on this topic, giving all kinds of (eventually proven inaccurate) assumptions.

[@Steve-bm3cq]

This guy is a way better orator in this hearing than I remember him being in the briefings back in the day. They should have given him more screen time and freedoms to say what he needed to say.

[@brianeduardo1234]

I agree he was anything but authoritative in briefings …

[@l1ncs]

probably because of the issues surrounding the political barriers he was witnessing and lack of leadership and organisation .. he's had time to review and process the choices he made

[@hieroglyph321]

No more politicians tying his hands....

[@robertstephenson8311]

Maybe because it’s his own words as opposed to being told what to say in his “performances” , previously.

[@ragdollkid1338]

He was clearly constrained by government policy in the briefings and all the experts looked uncomfortable at times because they had to be careful not to answer questions in a way that wouldn't confuse

[@wh8787]

I remember Boris Johnson saying he thought that herd immunity could be pursued by "letting it move through the population" or some such early on, so the idea that nobody in the government was saying the supported herd immunity when the PM himself had basically said he thought it was a good idea just sounds like bollocks.

[@gingerssmelllikecabbageand8708]

As someone who worked in ITU through the pandemic, im a whole host of failures two stood out. Yes mistakes were made in the first wave and I hold my hand up in saying I didn’t take it seriously until numbers became names. The eat out to help out, was wrong, but that occurred in the summer and by November through to March the general public lost interest and I’m going to call the general public’s disinterested attitude to it all on the second wave. I hold the government account from March 2020 to September 21 after that the public have to own it. Your a fool to think Johnson and the crew cared

[@NeroDX]

The gov were informed months before it was public knowledge and sat on their hands until it was an enormous issue, instead of putting out measures to curb the spread. Probably because of fears that their share profits would be effected by restricting travel or the like. It's not exactly rocket science.

[@ryanfraser167]

They can't just put out measures that violate people's rights based on hypothetical risk they have to be absolutely sure the risk is going to be realised before interfering in people's liberties and businesses/livelihoods etc.

[@moselley]

The virus was first spotted on or the day before New Years Eve, when I Chinese doctor note to colleagues in a whatsapp group that patients had been arriving at hospital displaying symptoms of SARS. Asia was very familiar with SARS, took it very seriously and locked down quickly, but we had not been exposed to SARS, so were somewhat lackadaisical in our response. I'm convinced that conservative governments in the Anglosphere sat on their hands precisely because they didn't want to impede the money machine, which almost certainly included their own share profits.

[@adamknight7041]

​@@ryanfraser167 99.8%+ survival rate you don't close down society for such a miniscule risk to the healthy working age population I don't give a fuck what anyone tries to argue to the contrary.

[@anthony64632]

​@ryanfraser167 ,better to act earlier to minimise the damage than wait and say " oops, it has gone bad ".

[@ryanfraser167]

@@anthony64632 it depends what you mean by "act", if it means violating people's rights and freedoms than there are obstacles to doing it.

[@helenhaubensack-bitterli3733]

I am no scientist but got the concept ffs!

[@ataboyboyboy8895]

All the data that SAGE supplied to the government should be made public. All those politicians that were involved should surrender all the data they have, digital or not. Who silenced world wide doctors? Name them and bring them to justice. The modelist should also be investigated. He played a huge role.

[@ragdollkid1338]

Clearly you wouldn't understand it if you think the modelling was wrong. If the politicians couldn't grasp exponential growth its unlikely the general public would understand 1% of the data SAGE produced

[@mck2021]

Opticians?

[@ataboyboyboy8895]

@@mck2021LOL politicians.

[@jardinekelso]

How many in SAGE had any epidemiology background ?

[@ragdollkid1338]

@jardinekelso SAGE isn't a fixed group. Depending on what the current issue is they chose the relevant experts for the task. So in a pandemic there would have been an appropriate mix of health and epidemiology experts

[@brianeduardo1234]

If I’m blunt, if I’m honest …you have sworn to be honest - to tell the whole truth! You can’t not be honest

[@mrstevecox7]

At 16m Whitty says there might have been downsides to early lockdown etc. It is perfectly clear to anyone thinking clearly, that an early lockdown preventing exponential growth and ending quickly would be far preferable to a slightly late lockdown letting exponential growth occur - because the latter lockdown would last far longer and cause more "fatigue".

[@xwize]

you have to weigh the severity against the likelihood its easy to be captain hindsight

[@marmadukesandwich]

Yes, but the thing is, most people don't think clearly. Most people are incapable of forecasting past the next few days, especially when they can't see it with their own eyes within their immediate vicinity. An early lockdown would have been ignored by more people, leading to later attempts at a lockdown being less effective.

[@street-level]

There speaks someone who does understand some mathematics.

[@thomashughes7336]

They mention further in the parts from yesterdays stuff that a quick early lockdown often promotes a massively severe second wave, which would have hit peak in winter. As well as some other significant reasoning. I personally think an early lockdown would have been better, but he made some good points

[@DivertissementMonas1664]

You still can't see the wood through the trees. Incredible ignorance.

[@paulrobertson3796]

Can't believe a word any of them are saying all back stabbing each other and it wasn't me it was him

[@amandaslade9072]

He willingly participated in the lies, ignored one of his former scientist colleagues who spoke out

[@brianthorley1518]

Typical it's not my fault!!! Dog eat dog

[@soloperformer5598]

"throws Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson under the bus". If only that were literal.

[@ShaunieDale]

I’m inclined not to slate Whitty too much. Trying to explain calculus to a kindergarten child is never going to end well. I’m sure he suffered some sort of explanation fatigue for trying to explain very complex topics to Boris Johnson. The conversation should have been like this:- Johnson “what do we do?” SAGE “We do XYZ.” Johnson “Hancock, do what they said, make it happen.”

[@thomasmatthews4766]

Every one a liar...who,s getting rich out of this ?...The final bill will shock you ..😳

[@mashizzubizz]

All shady barstewards. Makes Arthur Daley look like an Angel

[@lindaengland6521]

All these people went on quite happily with their lives, they don't have an energy crisis, they don't struggle to put food on the table, they don't spend hours on the phone trying to see a doctor. These people need to come live in the real world. They care, I don't think so. It was don't mind me, pull up the ladder Jack!

[@billyb6043]

and to think some people took it upon themselves to threaten these experts, and their families, when they were doing their utmost to serve the nation to the best of their abilities. surrounded by dim-witted, ego-driven careerists.

[@richardwarren537]

If I went to tesco and knicked a chicken I'd get into more trouble than all of these put together that's allowed to fxxka country up

[@johnhall4851]

The barrister asks poor questions. I wouldn't employ him. It sounds more like a careful plan to whitewash this scandal.

[@bandaid2024]

I think he’s given Whitty a really hard time unnecessarily. I liked that barrister but I lost respect for him today.

[@ragdollkid1338]

He is asking prepared questions for the enquiry and seeking clarification where he thinks it is needed. He is pushing Whitty who is being very professional and tactful in not calling the PM a liar or being blunt about the capabilities of the team in number 10

[@mattbennett7036]

Still waiting for someone to ask, "with hindsight, do you think that lockdowns were a net negative or net positive to the health of the nation?".

[@buzzinbites8962]

How could keeping people apart be negative from a health perspective? And he’s not a financial or psychological expert so he can’t answer the question. Nobody can. It’s done. Get over it.

[@bobjary9382]

@@buzzinbites8962 mental health ? ..and the nation has not recovered in many areas , a lot of businesses already suffering from the knock on effects of inflation/austerity went to the wall. A stroll through the retail or commercial district of almost any town reveals that

[@buzzinbites8962]

@@bobjary9382 I said a health perspective. If you have a contagious pandemic then keeping people apart is quite obviously the correct response purely from a health point of view but I completely agree there’s a trade off and who knows where the net benefit actually lies.

[@annewalden3795]

Matt I think you have to ask another question namely " How many pensioner deaths are you prepared to tolerate ".

[@bobjary9382]

@buzzinbites8962 youre quite right you did say 'from a health perspective'

[@jakobfromthefence]

You can’t really convince anyone of anything if they don’t want to listen. That would be my experience across the board from this pandemic. Which was the case with large parts of the public and a government with populist tendencies definitely in large parts reflected that.

[@silver152]

What they did get right is all the cash many in the government at time made . there should be a very big investigation

[@keith890]

LIES lies lies 🤬

[@nickjung7394]

Professor Whitty's 2017 lecture on Pandemics given at Gresham College showed just how competent and well informed this man is. That others overruled or failed to listen to him cannot be his fault!

[@thomasmorin749]

This Inquiry is all about the great and the good covering their own backsides.

[@Clint-kr8zm]

They knew what they where doing

[@theghostoftom]

21:38 and suprise suprise Sunak lied about it again at the last PM questions.

[@nigellee9824]

During the pandemic I thought he was out of his depth, and this enquiry proved me right…

[@GWJUK]

Pointless enquiry, no proper questions being asked about effectiveness. Just blaming each other. The rates of infection were no different in the UK to other European countries who didn’t have eat out to help out but you wouldn’t be able to tell from this sham. Oh and by the way I didn’t use the scheme

[@mariushancu4422]

See this book "War on Ivermectin: The Medicine that Saved Millions and Could Have Ended the Pandemic"

[@jonathonjubb6626]

Exponential growth is NOT a difficult concept to any Uni graduate... Ffs

[@andyking7621]

It probably is for a feckless, reckless baffoon who's education amounted to conjugating Latin verbs.

[@mariewhatley455]

Chris Whitty is a very intelligent and educated man. He has the wellbeing of people at heart. Admirable.

[@sandywilson867]

It is good to hear a calm , cool , presentation . without the hysteria that the media likes to highlight . Politicians should not be involved in estimating the risk factor of scientific matters of which they have no knowledge ; that should be left to the professionals .

[@MixedUpSignals]

All I have heard from anybody is "Wasn't me guv"

[@tamhunter5025]

You are right, it was them

[@robertstephenson8311]

Please remember that Whitty is now a “Sir” Chris Whitty. Yes it was an honour he picked up after overriding the JCVI on child vaccination. So what?

[@tommiatkins3443]

At the time, I literally dropped my jaw , saying out loud "oh fuck... they'll kill us all... people will believe them and die". And they did. By their thousands. And there's no compensation. The ones who cheered them killing their own mothers are craving to see Farage on IACGMOOH, because finally people will see what a funny and nice person he is.

[@MrBlazer3585]

If politicians had half the thought process as this the Professor we would be in a better place. On a different note, I wis someone eas there for me when needed and say "Slow down Professor!" 😅

[@bereal6590]

Thanks for covering this ✌✊

[@TonyToning-ne7uq]

Covering up * you mean..

[@terryhaircastle5702]

​@@TonyToning-ne7uqhow are JOE covering anything up?

[@TonyToning-ne7uq]

Av a day off love! i meant the clip@@terryhaircastle5702

[@kazsasha5993]

He is a weasel and agreed with everything the government said and got paid for it knowing the truth , now he is trying to squirm his way out of it , hoping that admitting his downfall he will get normal people on his side - despicable.

[@bob23301]

My god, they put peoples lives at risk for nothing but money...........a true tory, they should all be charged with what they did.

[@MrBlazer3585]

You're absolutely right!

[@derekmulready1523]

The analogy with Brexit. The British Government said everything will be Grand on the run up to leaving the EU. While 27 Independent Sovereign Member States prepared. With Massive amounts of €s being pumped into Infrastructure. The Government sat on their hands, England is Largely bypassed. Upto the 23:00 CET 31 01 2020 The Cabinet thought that the EU would CAVE to British demands. 🇮🇪🇪🇺

[@nickjung7394]

Where do you think the EU money came from? Which countries were net contributors to the EU?

[@SelfIndulgentGamer]

They were already under the bus 😂

[@pearlverdun]

How much are we paying for this hearing? Whitty just whittled...did he answer any questions?

[@cncit]

Small numbers to large numbers. I know nothing about medical science but I understood right from the announcement of the pandemic, that this virus, left unchecked, would spread like wildfire. We had already witnessed that happening in Spain and Italy. We had all the evidence we needed. To hear a scientist, tasked with advising the government at this critical time, say that people didn't understand this, is complete tosh in my view!

[@catherine8326]

Great that this information is readily available!

[@andyking7621]

It is a public inquiry ... But yes. As it should be.

[@Relugus]

Reminds me of Father Ted explaining distance to Dougal..

[@carolesutton3082]

Tell the public the truth and stop the intentional confusion with paper work.

[@derekmulready1523]

Neither did the Whole Cabinet. Britain is a kind of "Democracy" at Queen Elizabeth ii Pleasure. 🇮🇪🇪🇺

[@nickjung7394]

It is the system that the people of Great Britain prefer!

[@Mark-bl6oe]

I can't even begin to imagine doing such a difficult job with the highest consequences, while working alongside politicians who were intoxicated, contemptuous, egotistical and deceitful. Chris must have been so frustrated day in day out. Yes Chris will have made mistakes himself but you can see here he has already reflected on them immensely, no one is perfect especially with the benefit of hindsight. However, he has always acted with integrity with the best intentions at heart given the situation and workplace he had to deal with.

[@artseosamhogriobhta]

"The Health Family".... says it all really

[@dil2111]

It's odd how politicians don't grasp that the public realise they are human and it's possible for them to make a mistake. If you only just admit it, that is. Medical professionals like Whitty will regularly admit any errors, often to their peers in departmental meetings, so others may learn from it

[@bandaid2024]

I think he was given quite a hard time. I found it painful to watch today. He also kept saying he felt his communication wasn’t good at the beginning and wanted to put his hands up but I don’t give once ounce of blame to him or any of the scientists. It all lays with the government at the time.

[@Bobbynutty]

Crook's questioning and crook's answering 🤑🤑🤑🤑🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

[@djp120970]

And then they hand over to the WHO mic drop

[@dba1222]

SLOOOOWWWW DOOOWWWN PROFEESSSOOORRR LOL

[@spinachtriangle]

Is the tax payer paying for all those NPCs sitting in the background trying to look busy when actually they not doing anything?

[@jimmorrison4291]

As a man, I wasn't keen on "Eat Out to Help Out", although I think his new initiative, "Suck Off to Muck In" is going to be a roaring success.

[@MontyCantsin5]

Teeheeheehee…hahahaha….hilarious. Not.

[@TonyToning-ne7uq]

as a man i didnt adhere to lockdown and led a normal life for the 2 + years great britian was illegally imprisoned. i feel sorry for sheep who lost 2+ years of there lifes for NOTHING.

[@LeoRikimaru]

@@MontyCantsin5Ah. The overwhelming, cynical confidence of someone not trying to heighten the mood criticizing someone who does. What a fun person you must be.

[@jellslixcy6168]

@@LeoRikimaruheighten the mood or lighten the mood? I think you mean lighten? Heightening the mood with a sexual innuendo joke would be hard. Like I was after eating out.

[@MontyCantsin5]

@@LeoRikimaru: I'm sorry, that made no sense. Try again.

[@dapperdarlingdm5723]

Anyone whose seen a zombie movie understands exponential growth!

[@cook1e2000robturnerxG]

I feel like the gentleman doing the questioning can feel like looking for headlines instead of routing for more understanding about what went wrong

[@jonmilling703]

Nah, not for me. Whitty & Valance had their own agendas. The hero worshipping and accolade that they received, Whitty in particular, bothered me. We all knew he was an advisor to a clown show. If he had an issue with it he could’ve walked from his £200K a year role. More to it than meets the eye…

[@AR-rw7xb]

And Van Tam has taken up a job at Moderna. These people are doing exactly what the tin foil hat brigade said they would.

[@04brobinson33]

You’re acting like 200 grand a year is insane for the chief medical officer of England… come on lad these are big boy jobs. He’s literally laid out his own mistakes here in an unprecedented situation where he was frankly dealing with idiots in government, who ultimately make the decisions. Not on him, on the government. Edit: He could go make half a million in private industry easily if it was about money 😂 look at what Vallance made at GSK

[@351yt]

The little rat didn't have the balls to tell the truth at the time.

[@prideofdurham4776]

Will Twatty return his knighthood he got from the bloke he has just thrown under a Routemaster Red London bus? Willy Eckerslyke.

[@NSW-ye3xw]

Boris got Chris knighted, Chris now throws Boris under the bus. I wouldn’t trust any of them.

[@mark.e.p]

Had many cheap covid free curries thanks to Rishi. Guess we're paying for it now 😢

[@tarkadahl1985]

if you've still got the shits 3 years later best see the doc mate

[@aidanliddane1242]

What about the excess deaths from the bio weapon ,?

[@J-Me86-UK]

All slimey 🐍 s

[@annishilcock4587]

If there was ever an example of someone sitting on the fence, prevaricating, making excuses and unwilling to be equivical Whitty is it.

[@bernieburrows3731]

The arrogance is deafening and they all like the sound of their own voice 😒

[@marksykes5434]

You , of course , don’t mean the independent scientists………….do you ?

[@davidpearson6785]

Welcome to todays edition of pass the buck ......

[@TranslatorTuber]

He shouldn't need to pass the buck. The PM was in charge. The buck always stops with him.

[@buntyjoy1800]

Buck stops at Johnson

[@jellslixcy6168]

At one point he literally says “ I should have done this better” - he is owning his self assessed failings in a very public forum. Watch the bit about behavioural fatigue

[@buntyjoy1800]

@@jellslixcy6168 It was Johnson ignoring the experts and his arrogance that killed people, not Whitty conveying information in a less than perfect fashion.

[@jellslixcy6168]

@@buntyjoy1800yes I know- my comment was a reply to the original comment saying that everyone is passing the buck - Whitty isn’t passing the buck

[@lawrencenoctor2703]

At a time when we needed udult leadership we got that utter shambles. How anyone can defend them is beyond understanding.

[@benja9653]

loved the "slow dowwwn professor 🙄🙄🙄" 2 minutes in

[@jacksg1809]

Nervous ? Knew he had to say what he thought he should say as "bosses" were watching

[@matthewhackett1710]

the 28 days of February 2020 passed with absolutely nothing being done in response to the incoming storm. Someone needs to ask what was being done all those critical days. We saw the Chinese building entire hospitals in December 2019, and saw the Italians''s state of shock developing in January. 2020, We did nothing, like a rabbit in the headlights looking the other way.

[@CP-zu5pi]

China builds whole cities with zero residents just to save face that their economy is stalling and unemployment is high. They are very trustworthy and our good friends

[@annewalden3795]

Matt the British have long relied on being an island for protection.

[@davekeith576]

Why was ( Ivermectin discouraged .

[@JDHYDXYHSHEHYDYYDHD]

He always seemed the more neutral or honest one... But that isn't saying a lot...

[@1inchPunchBowl]

Why would he not be? He is just doing his job with no political bias.

[@adamknight7041]

​@@1inchPunchBowlAhem he has shares in the Gates Foundation

[@dba1222]

@@adamknight7041 Jesus Christ man. Honestly, scientists just cannot win. If they align with government, they're part of "the elite", but when one has a neutral opinion, oh no, can't listen to him because "he's part of the globalists". Not everything is a conspiracy jfc

[@dfvgremlin]

@@adamknight7041 How can you have shares in a private charitable foundation?

[@Fahrenheit1407]

​@@adamknight7041and?

[@alan-sk7ky]

Well,at least he got a KCB for allowing the science to be ignored while acting as the 'oven glove'

[@metalhead2550]

I'm sorry but exponential growth is not a hard concept to grasp.... it's a pretty standard mathematical concept

[@davidwhitton9050]

Very easy to explain just go, 2, 4, 16, 256 most people should grasp the concept of really really fast by then.

[@dulcettonezzz8229]

It’s not just about public health. If it was, smoking and alcohol would be illegal

[@darrenpeel3860]

He hasn't thrown them.under the bus he's just actually told.the truth hard to grasp for a tory

[@elliottfireice4394]

Everyone stay inside. Everyone eat out to help out.

[@gerbil_horde]

I always wonder who are these other people filling the room? What are they doing and who is paying for them to be there? Seems like an awful lot of people providing no obvious value to the conversation

[@jellslixcy6168]

If you don’t know what they do how can you assess them as being a waste of money?

[@simongoddard8490]

Often wonder the same, hell of a support team.

[@derekmulready1523]

The British Taxpayer. Is that not Obvious. Why not Request a FOI about your Query. 🇮🇪🇪🇺

[@icedreamer9629]

They are responsible for feeding the questions and samples to the speaker's screen. He represents the body as a whole.

[@duncanharrison6381]

Have you ever googled it?

[@marcellosgarbini759]

He should have been the prime minister,And now.