In another blow to the beleaguered United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, the UK government was not properly prepared for a pandemic like COVID-19, a new report has found. Photo: Independent/File

The report by the National Audit Office (NAO) said the government lacked detailed plans on shielding, job support schemes and school disruption. Photo: Getty Images

UK Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson ‘aka ‘Boris’ failure to act at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic proved to be costly to the same people he was elected to lead and protect. Photo: Internet Source

According to the BBC on November 19, 2021, the report by the National Audit Office (NAO) said the government lacked detailed plans on shielding, job support schemes and school disruption.

The NAO, labelled the spending watchdog, added that lessons needed to be learned.

In response, the UK government, which called a controversial Commission of Inquiry (CoI) in the [British] Virgin Islands in the height of the global coronavirus, said the unprecedented pandemic had challenged health systems around the world - not just the UK.

Boris Gov’t lacked a plan!

According to the NAO, preparations for a flu pandemic or highly infectious diseases like Ebola were prioritised over diseases with similar characteristics to COVID.

The spending watchdog said the UK government did not have specific plans to tackle a disease like COVID-19, which has a lower mortality rate than Ebola but has the ability to spread in communities with asymptomatic infected people.

The report also found that the Cabinet Office allocated 56 of its 94 full-time emergency planning members of staff to prepare for potential disruptions from a no-deal exit from the European Union, "limiting its ability" to plan for other crises.

UK Gov’t failed to prepare & failed public- UK MP

The watchdog found that the pandemic "exposed a vulnerability to whole-system emergencies", suggesting there was "limited oversight and assurance" of the plans in place.

The report said the government missed the opportunity to learn from previous large-scale pandemic simulations it carried out as far back as 2007. One simulation, Exercise Cygnus, which ran in 2016, suggested the government should consider "the ability of staff to work from home".

Labour's shadow Cabinet Office minister Kathleen Fleur Anderson, said the report showed the Boris Johnson-led "Conservative ministers failed to prepare and they failed the public".

Indecisive UK PM proved deadly- Mirror

According to the Uk publication, Mirror, on March 14, 2021, the Prime Minister, who is already facing allegations of corruption and cronyism, is said to have told allies it was a mistake to delay the move to lockdown the UK earlier, with experts saying tens of thousands of deaths could have been prevented.

An insider reportedly told the Mirror the government "lost weeks", despite having an advance warning of the horrors of the pandemic from European countries such as Italy.

Some of his critics have drawn comparisons to that of ousted US President Donald J. Trump, who also similarly risked the lives of people in America with his indecisiveness, conspiracy theories and sometimes downplaying of the pandemic.