Boris Johnson took four days off from official government business in February 2020 when the NHS warned it could be “overwhelmed” by the coronavirus, according to leaked official logs. The former prime minister spent the time walking his dog, riding a motorbike and hosting guests at Chevening, the government estate in Kent.
The logs, obtained by transparency group Distributed Denial of Secrets and seen by the Guardian, show no government work on 15, 16, 17 and 21 February. Johnson was at Chevening during the half-term holiday, enjoying walks with his jack russell Dilyn and motorcycle rides on a bike given by his now wife Carrie.
During this period, the Covid inquiry described as a “lost month”, the NHS England warned that even with mitigation it could become “overwhelmed” before the virus peaked unless significant interventions were made. But lockdown measures were not implemented for more than four weeks.
The logs indicate just two full days of work on 19 and 20 February, including a call with US President Donald Trump. On 21 February, as Johnson biked around Chevening, the government was briefed on an Italian cluster of 16 cases, with seven in intensive care, raising fears the virus could no longer be contained.
Johnson told the inquiry in December 2023 that he was working throughout the period and the tempo increased, but the activity logs appear to contradict that. The inquiry concluded that the UK response was “too little, too late” and that a lockdown a week earlier could have saved more than 20,000 lives.
