MP makes shocking PPE revelation that the government won’t want you to hear

Person putting on PPE, and Boris Johnson
Ed Sykes


On 21 April, Labour MP Bill Esterson made a shocking revelation about personal protective equipment (PPE). And it seems to represent one more brick in the wall of evidence showing government incompetence and inaction amid the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

PPE scandal

Esterson tweeted:

 

The NHS has been struggling so far with a lack of PPE. And despite grave warnings about the danger to staff from such a shortage, government action has been slow. Numerous UK manufacturers, for example, have reportedly faced the same situation as Esterson’s constituent, with the government failing to respond to PPE offers. Many, meanwhile, have reacted to this reality by sending PPE to other countries in Europe instead.

The government is also facing scrutiny over a recent PPE order from Turkey. Because there are allegations that it only placed the order after saying the PPE was already on its way (and it has still not arrived).

On 21 April, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) called for an independent public inquiry into the “grotesque” shortage of PPE by the end of the year. This comes as at least 100 workers in the health service have died after contracting coronavirus.

Testing too…

The same situation was apparently true with testing too. Because experts who offered help to the government on this front also waited weeks for a response. And testing rates are still shockingly low. The government has promised 100,000 tests a day by the end of April, but there were only around 20,000 done between 19 April and 20 April, although capacity is greater.

Meanwhile, the quality of the tests that have existed has come into question:

At least 17,337 people have died so far in the UK during the coronavirus outbreak. And with the government reporting “hospital-only figures”, the real number of fatalities is likely to be much higher – especially as a result of care home deaths.

Government trying to control the narrative

Amid these government failings, health workers are reportedly having to resist attempted censorship:

There is also ongoing work on allegations, which the Department of Health and Social Care is vigorously denying, of ‘fake NHS staff accounts’ putting out pro-government propaganda.

Keep. Holding. Them. To. Account.

Some experts have called the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic a “national scandal”. But the scandal hasn’t just been in recent weeks. It’s been years in the making. Because Boris Johnson’s party has decimated the NHS in the last decade via its ideological austerity policies. And in doing so, it has left the service struggling to cope with this pandemic:

Much of Britain’s corporate media, meanwhile, has put out pro-government propaganda, criticising people who dare to call out the government’s incompetent response. Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, for example, faced much hostility for holding Johnson’s team to account in real time. He was right to do so. But as some have pointed out, the decks have long been stacked in favour of the Tories and against progressives:

Today, it’s perhaps more important than ever to hold the government to account. Because its response has been appalling. And we need to demand better. Lives depend on it.

Featured image via YouTube – ITV News / YouTube – BBC News

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  • Show Comments

    1. Bogus Johnson is as big a bloody liar as Tony B’Liar. He says the first thing that comes out of his head but it may have been regurgitated from below his fat belt. It’s clear the Tories can’t organize a piss up in a brewery.

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    2. It is becoming increasingly apparent that government inaction over PPE and, far worse, deliberate obfuscation for political expediency, amounts to criminal negligence. The author Philip Pullman has called, in an essay for Penguin, for the front bench to be charged with conspiracy to murder if it is established that offers of EU help over PPE supplies were rejected for political reasons, as Sir Simon McDonald, the most senior civil servant at the Foreign Office, has finally admitted, contradicting his own and the government’s statements on the issue. This will undoubtedly have led to deaths, which those politicians responsible undoubtedly knew at the time of taking their decision. There is no good reason which justifies turning down access to supplies under the present crisis. It was done to preserve the government’s profile over Brexit, and it is profoundly shocking. This wretch from the Foreign Office is smirking throughout his admission. I hope it’s from embarrassment. Who are these appalling people?

      https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/coronavirus-uk-eu-medical-equipment-ventilators-boris-johnson-brexit-latest-a9476811.html

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      1. Apologies. He initially told MPs that ministers had been briefed by the UK’s mission to the EU on “what was on offer” from Brussels, and then backtracked in a letter afterwards: ““Unfortunately, due to a misunderstanding, I inadvertently and wrongly told the committee, that ministers were briefed by UKMIS on the EU’s joint procurement scheme and took a political decision not to participate in it. This is incorrect. Ministers were not briefed by our mission in Brussels about the scheme and a political decision was not taken on whether or not to participate.” That has to be one of the most unconvincing retractions I’ve ever heard. Isn’t it reassuring that our most senior civil servants know exactly what they’re talking about at time like this ….

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