The official Covid-19 Inquiry has delivered a devastating verdict on Boris Johnson's premiership, concluding that the former Prime Minister and his inner circle caused "huge distress" to the British public by repeatedly flouting their own pandemic rules.
A Damning Verdict on Rule Breaking
Chaired by Baroness Heather Hallett, the inquiry found that the actions of Mr Johnson, his ministers, and advisors—including Dominic Cummings—severely undermined the government's public health messaging. The report was particularly scathing about the "inexcusable" inaction after Covid-19 reached the UK, noting that ministers' repeated failures to impose timely restrictions cost thousands of lives and led to longer lockdowns that could have been avoided.
The culture of rule-breaking at the top was first exposed in 2020 when Mr Cummings was found to have violated the first lockdown by driving from London to County Durham while his family had Covid symptoms. This was followed by the resignation of then-Health Secretary Matt Hancock after he was filmed breaking restrictions in a romantic embrace with an aide.
The Profound Impact of Partygate
The inquiry highlighted that the Partygate scandal was especially damaging. The Daily Mirror's 2021 revelations of numerous parties and gatherings in Downing Street resulted in a public outcry and the Metropolitan Police issuing 126 fixed penalty notices for breaches of Covid regulations.
Both Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, who was Chancellor at the time, confirmed they received fines for attending a birthday gathering for the Prime Minister in Downing Street on 19 June 2020. The inquiry report stated that this blatant rule-breaking caused immense hurt, particularly for those who had "endured huge personal costs" to follow the rules, such as being unable to be with loved ones when they died.
Eroding Public Trust and Compliance
The consequences of these actions extended beyond public distress, directly eroding trust in the government and compliance with life-saving rules. The inquiry found that the failure to swiftly address rule-breaking "increased the risk of people not complying" with restrictions.
This was starkly illustrated by a YouGov survey cited in the report. It showed that in the run-up to Christmas 2021, 46% of people were unlikely to follow restrictions. Of that group, 21% explicitly stated their reluctance was due to the "Government don't stick to rules/Downing Street parties."
The report's findings culminate a period of intense scrutiny that ultimately saw Mr Johnson found by the House of Commons Privileges Committee to have deliberately misled parliament over whether all rules had been followed.
