The Prime Minister complained that lockdowns were 'causing us to lose the backing of generally supportive elements of the media'
When it came to vital decisions on Covid lockdowns, Boris Johnson was more interested in avoiding a backlash from right-wing papers like the Daily Telegraph, than being guided by the scientific evidence, the Covid inquiry has heard.
The inquiry yesterday heard from Johnson’s former adviser and communications director Lee Cain, who provided evidence to the inquiry which showed just how callous Johnson was.
“[He] expressed significant concern, stating our policies were causing us to lose the backing of generally supportive elements of the media,” Cain’s evidence to the inquiry read. The damning revelation shows once more just how much influence the right-wing press have in shaping government policy, even during a crisis.
The full witness statement to the Covid inquiry read: “At this time the Prime Minister was increasingly becoming concerned about the impact of lockdowns on the economy and the political impact it was having on the right wing of the Conservative Party and the coverage of the right-leaning media.
“For example, on May 8th 2020, the Daily Telegraph- a newspaper that had been robustly anti-lockdown-printed its first page on a favourable interview with the leader of the opposition. The Prime Minister called me that evening and expressed significant concern, stating that our policies were causing us to lose the backing of generally supportive elements of the media and he felt they may well be right (a position that conflicted with all the evidence available).
The reactions of the right-wing press also determined whether a circuit breaker lockdown was put in place during the months of September and October in 2020. Asked about it by the inquiry’s lawyer, Cain said: “Yes, I think the Prime Minister was torn on this issue.
“I think if he would have been in his previous role as a journalist, he would probably be writing articles saying we should open up the beaches and…we should get back [to normality]. And I think he felt torn where the evidence on one side and public opinion and scientific evidence [was] very much [of] caution, [and being] slow.
“We were certainly going to have to do another suppression measure. So we need to have that in mind to work media opinion, and the bulk or certainly the rump of the Tory Party was pushing in a hard [unlock] direction. So I think that was probably part of the reason for the oscillation because…[lockdown] measures were very much against…his political DNA I guess.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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