Inside Politics – Coronavirus special: Ministers under pressure over preparedness

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Monday 20 April 2020 08:03 BST

Michael Gove: 'The idea that the Prime Minister skipped meetings that were vital to our response to the coronavirus is grotesque'

EastEnders star Danny Dyer – a direct descendant of King Edward III, remember – will provide a history class for five-to seven-year-olds on Henry VIII when the BBC’s new virtual learning class launches today. Boris Johnson’s team faces more questions about some very recent history, under pressure over claims they wasted weeks doing little to prepare the nation for the pandemic. Ministers claim now is not the time to rake over the past, but the opposition thinks there are urgent lessons to be learned. I’m Adam Forrest, and welcome to The Independent’s daily Inside Politics briefing during the coronavirus crisis.

Inside the bubble

Our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin on what to look out for today:

The government’s negotiating team resumes trade deal talks with their EU counterparts via videoconference on Monday. But much of the focus will be on the Treasury’s coronavirus job retention scheme, which opens up for applications from businesses this morning. Justice secretary Robert Buckland will be grilled on the impact of the virus by MPs on the human rights committee, before the daily Downing Street press conference at the end of the afternoon.

Daily briefing

BEAM ME UP: Boris Johnson is expected to get regular updates from his stand-in Dominic Raab this week. The PM told his team he is wary about lifting lockdown restrictions too early since his “overriding concern” is preventing a second wave of the virus, according to The Times. While his education secretary Gavin Williamson dismissed reports schools could re-open in mid-May, Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove also played down reports of a three-phase, “traffic-light” system to end the lockdown. Yet he did say pubs and restaurants would be among the last businesses to see measures eased. Gove also attempted to defend the recovering Johnson, claiming it was “grotesque” to portray the PM “as though not caring” after The Sunday Times reported that he had missed five Cobra meetings in a crucial 38-day period. His also claimed some aspects of the story were “slightly off-beam”, which was hardly the fiercest of rebuttals.

EXEMPLARY BEHAVIOUR: Pressure builds over the lack of personal protective equipment for NHS staff. The government was forced to admit a huge delivery of PPE from Turkey – including 400,000 gowns – has been delayed. Williamson said the gowns should arrive later today. Gove admitted the UK had sent a shipment of PPE to China, but insisted Beijing had since sent far more to us than it had received. It comes as the NHS Confederation becomes the latest body to back doctors who refuse to treat patients without adequate protective kit. Meanwhile, deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries called for a “grown up conversation about PPE” and made the very odd claim that “the UK has been an intentional exemplar in preparedness”. There were 596 coronavirus deaths reported on Sunday, down from the previous daily toll of 888.

ACTION STATIONS: Labour’s shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said The Sunday Times expose suggests Johnson was “missing in action”, and claimed “serious questions” remain about preparedness. The Lib Dems, meanwhile, want frontline NHS staff to get an extra £29-a-day “service reward” for their work during the outbreak. They deserve a bonus payment similar to military personnel who see action in conflict zones, the party suggested. The impact of the crisis will be felt by frontline officers too, the president of the Police Superintendents’ Association (PSA) Police has said. They must be ready for a “more volatile and agitated society” after the end of the lockdown, chief superintendent Paul Griffiths told The Independent. All too aware of the economic impacts, the Treasury opens its job retention scheme this morning. The government claims the system will be ready to process up to 450,000 applications an hour and get payments out within six working days. Let’s wait and see.

NO. 1 NOBODY WANTS: More than 40,000 Americans have now died from Covid-19, according to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University – amounting to almost one-quarter of deaths worldwide. Yet Donald Trump claimed over the weekend that China, not the US, was “number one” for coronavirus deaths. “China’s number one by a lot. It’s not even close. They are way ahead of us in terms of deaths. It’s not even close … Someday I’ll explain it.” He also appeared to back the growing number of anti-lockdown protests across the country, saying some state governors “have gotten carried away” with the restrictions. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi labelled Trump a “weak leader”, while the president’s daughter Ivanka was criticised for suggesting bored Americans spend their time making shadow animal puppets.

BEACHES AND BAZAARS: Some of Sydney’s most popular beaches have re-opened, after there were only six new coronavirus cases recorded in Australia’s New South Wales region – the lowest level in five weeks. Iran is also lifting some restrictions today, as the government sanctions bazaars, shopping malls to other “medium-risk” businesses to open their doors again. India is easing some of its rules too, with banks, agricultural businesses and some public works programmes allowed to restart. In China, the authorities have re-opened 73 tourist sites in Beijing, including parts of the Great Wall. In Europe, some lockdown rules are being officially lifted today in Germany, Poland and Norway.

SCEPTIC IN CHARGE: Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro came out in public to support pro-military demonstrators demanding an end to quarantine rules in the capital Brasilia on Sunday. It was meant to be a commemoration of the two decade-long military dictatorship between 1964 and 1985, but acted as a protest against lockdown orders issued by state governors. “You must fight for your country,” said the far-right leader, who has previously called Covid-19 a “little flu”. It followed hundreds of protesters driving their cars through the streets of Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo on Saturday in defiance of regional stay-at-home orders.

On the record

“When the country emerges from this crisis, we must also properly recognise those who were willing to serve and make a sacrifice, just as we do with military forces.”

Acting Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey wants the heroism of NHS staff recognised.

From the Twitterati

“Michael Gove: “There are one or two aspects of the Sunday Times report that are slightly off-beam”. Which must be the weakest rebuttal of all time.”

Politics Home editor Kevin Schofield on Gove’s non-denial...

“I can’t think of a single Prime Minister, Labour or Conservative, who would show the same lack of commitment to the job and to the detail as Boris Johnson.”

…while Labour MP Wes Streeting pulls no punches.