Boris Johnson's sister, Rachel Johnson, has launched a fierce defence of her brother, branding the official Covid Inquiry report as 'expensive vindictive rubbish' that unfairly portrays the former Prime Minister as 'the Grim Reaper'.
A Sister's Furious Defence
Speaking on LBC Radio on Friday, Rachel Johnson tore into the 800-page document, which cost an estimated £200 million to produce. She specifically targeted its central conclusion that a one-week delay in imposing the first lockdown led to an estimated 23,000 additional deaths.
"It only took 800 pages," she stated. "It only took a mere £200 million of our money - i.e. £160,000 a day and a modelling graph - for Lady Hallett to conclude that Boris Johnson’s decision to lockdown a week late caused 23,000 deaths."
Ms Johnson was quick to question the validity of this figure, pointing out that it was based on data from Professor Neil Ferguson, a scientist whose credibility she openly challenged.
The Inquiry's Damning Conclusions
The report, led by judge Baroness Heather Hallett, presented a scathing assessment of the UK government's pandemic response, summarising it as 'too little, too late'.
It described a 'toxic and chaotic' culture at the heart of Number 10, which severely hampered the quality of decision-making. A key finding was that rule-breaking by officials was not addressed swiftly, which in turn encouraged the public to abandon lockdown rules.
Baroness Hallett was particularly critical of the former Prime Minister's personal leadership, stating he 'should have appreciated sooner that this was an emergency' requiring his direct intervention. She attributed this failure to Mr Johnson's inherent 'optimism' and 'scepticism' based on past experiences with infectious diseases, coupled with his attention being diverted to other government priorities.
Lockdowns: 'The Worst Postwar Policy'
In her radio appearance, Rachel Johnson did not hold back in her criticism of the lockdown strategy itself, reiterating her long-held view that the measures were a catastrophic error.
"This conclusion is being received as though my brother was the Grim Reaper himself and personally visited each bedside to deliver the mortal blow," she told listeners.
She condemned the report as a product of 'perfect hindsight' and stood by her belief that the country should have pursued a different path. "We should have protected the vulnerable and the elderly," she argued. "We should never have shuttered the economy and closed schools and playgrounds. In my view, it was a contender for the worst policy decision of the postwar period."
Her defiant comments highlight the deep and ongoing political divisions surrounding the UK's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and the contentious legacy of the lockdowns.
