Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Johnson resists pandemic inquiry as hospitals become 'war zones'

BRITISH prime minister Boris Johnson resisted calls for an inquiry into his government's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic on Wednesday(20) as the country's death toll neared 100,000 and his chief scientist said hospitals were looking like war zones.

Johnson has been accused of reacting too slowly to the crisis, failing to supply sufficient protective equipment and bungling the testing system, although the UK has been swift to roll out a vaccine.


The official death toll is 93,290 - Europe's worst figure and the world's fifth worst, after the US, Brazil, India and Mexico.

Britain reported a record number of deaths from Covid-19 on Wednesday, with 1,820 people dying within 28 days of positive coronavirus test, surpassing the previous peak set a day earlier, government data showed.

The number was up from the 1,610 deaths reported on Tuesday(19). There were 38,905 new cases recorded on Wednesday, up from the 33,355 reported a day earlier.

Currently, 39,068 people are in hospital with Covid, 3,947 of them on ventilation.

There have been calls for a public inquiry from some doctors and bereaved families into the management of the crisis.

Johnson last year said he would hold an inquiry when the time was right, but has not outlined when that will be. Speaking in parliament on Wednesday, he said: "The idea that we should now concentrate...vast state resources to an inquiry now, in the middle of the pandemic, does not seem sensible to me."

Ministers say that while they have not got everything right, they were making decisions at speed in the worst public health crisis for a century and that they have learned from mistakes and followed scientific advice.

As hospital admissions soared, the government's chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, said there was enormous pressure on the National Health Service with doctors and nurses battling to give people sufficient care.

"It may not look like it when you go for a walk in the park, but when you go into a hospital, this is very, very bad at the moment with enormous pressure and in some cases it looks like a war zone in terms of the things that people are having to deal with," Vallance told Sky television.

The UK is currently under a lockdown, with bars and restaurants closed, only essential shops open, and restrictions on people's activities.

But Vallance - formerly head of research at GlaxoSmithKline and a professor of medicine at University College London - said that loosening the lockdown too soon would be a mistake.

"The lesson is every time you release it too quickly you get an upswing and you can see that right across the world."

More For You

JLR-Tata-Getty

JLR had initially planned to manufacture more than 70,000 electric vehicles at the facility. (Photo: Getty Images)

JLR halts plan to build EVs at Tata’s India plant: Report

JAGUAR LAND ROVER (JLR) has put on hold plans to manufacture electric vehicles at Tata Motors’ upcoming £775 million factory in southern India, according to a news report.

The decision was influenced by challenges in balancing price and quality for locally sourced EV components, three of the sources said. They added that slowing demand for electric vehicles was also a factor.

Keep ReadingShow less
Leicester drug supplier Sarju Khushal jailed for 11 years over £2m operation

Sarju Khushal

Leicester drug supplier Sarju Khushal jailed for 11 years over £2m operation

A MAN who supplied controlled drugs on a ‘wholesale’ scale across Leicestershire has been sentenced to 11 years in prison. Sarju Khushal, 30, was arrested in 2022 after investigations revealed he had been transporting drugs from Lancashire into the area.

Khushal, formerly of Hazeldene Road, Leicester, pleaded guilty to several charges, including the supply and conspiracy to supply class A drugs. He was sentenced at Leicester crown court last Thursday (6).

Keep ReadingShow less
Tamil Nadu Education

Tamil, one of the oldest living languages in the world, is a source of pride for the state’s people

Getty images

Education or imposition? Tamil Nadu battles India government over Hindi in schools

A war of words has erupted between Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister MK Stalin and the federal government over the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which recommends a three-language formula in schools, with two of the three being native to India. Stalin has voiced strong objections, claiming that the policy could lead to the imposition of Hindi, a northern Indian language, in non-Hindi-speaking states like Tamil Nadu. The issue has reignited old tensions between southern states and the central government over the privileging of Hindi.

Historical resistance to Hindi

Tamil Nadu has a deep-rooted history of opposing the promotion of Hindi, dating back to the 1960s. Protests broke out in the state when the federal government attempted to make Hindi the sole official language, leading to a compromise that allowed the continued use of English. Language in Tamil Nadu is not merely a means of communication but a powerful symbol of cultural identity. Tamil, one of the oldest living languages in the world, is a source of pride for the state’s people. As a result, any perceived threat to its prominence is met with strong resistance.

Keep ReadingShow less
Former Bristol MP Thangam Debbonaire enters House of Lords as Baroness

Thangam Debbonaire

Former Bristol MP Thangam Debbonaire enters House of Lords as Baroness

FORMER Bristol MP Thangam Debbonaire has taken her seat in the House of Lords after being awarded a life peerage last month.

The 58-year-old, who represented Bristol West for Labour from 2015 until July’s general election, wore the traditional scarlet robes during her introductory ceremony. She will now be known as Baroness Debbonaire of De Beauvoir Town in the London Borough of Hackney.

Keep ReadingShow less