Boris Johnson nowhere to be seen as CMO and CSA level with the public before dashing for the exit
Where was Boris Johnson?
Normally whenever the chief medical officer and the chief scientific adviser are giving a Downing Street briefing, the prime minister – or failing that, a cabinet minister – is on view alongside them.
But on Monday, Patrick Vallance and Chris Whitty went out just as a double act. Either because they didn’t trust the prime minister not to undermine the gravity of the situation – Boris hates being the bearer of bad news and can usually be relied on to make light of the situation – or because the government is paralysed and has no idea how to act on the new information.
Not that what Whitty and Vallance had to say came as any great surprise. It has been clear for some time now that the coronavirus pandemic has been getting rapidly worse and the two lugubrious amigos, who have always seemed most comfortable when downbeat, just laid out the data as plainly as they could.