The UK government was underprepared for the coronavirus pandemic, as officials themselves have put it, and neither is it for a power vacuum that emerged in Boris Johnson’s absence, according to insiders’ accounts reported by The Telegraph.
A senior government source told the newspaper that the emergency plan developed by the Civil Contingencies Secretariat did not consider a scenario under which senior cabinet members were “taken out” one by one, rather than altogether.
“That was left up to the Cabinet Office, who had a plan for a nuclear strike, or a terrorist attack, or something of that nature,” they were quoted as saying, adding that the Prime Minister being incapacitated created “confusion” as to who is in charge of decision-making.
With almost 8,000 coronavirus-related deaths and more than 65,000 cases as of Thursday, the UK is predicted to become the country worst hit by the pandemic in Europe in the coming months.
Boris Johnson was admitted to intensive care on Sunday, 10 days after testing positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. He was moved out on Thursday and is currently recovering on a hospital ward. Several other high-profile officials, including senior Cabinet minister Michael Gove and Johnson’s adviser Dominic Cummings, have gone into self-isolation. Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, has recently recovered from the disease.
Dominic Raab, who combines the positions of first secretary of state and foreign secretary, has become the de facto stand-in for Johnson (the British system does not formally provide for a deputy to the prime minister).
It came as pressure is mounting on the government on how and when to lift the nationwide coronavirus lockdown. Raab did not provide a timeline on that decision, which was originally due by next Thursday, telling reporters that the government is not “at the review stage” now.
Meanwhile, the public and officials alike have voiced concerns over who has been conferred the authority over national security policy.
“It is important to have 100% clarity as to where responsibility for UK national security decisions now lies,” Tory MP Tobias Ellwood tweeted on Tuesday. “We must anticipate adversaries attempting to exploit any perceived weakness.”
Wishing PM swift recovery.
— Tobias Ellwood MP (@Tobias_Ellwood) April 7, 2020
Dominic Raab now deputising.
Listening to Micheal Gove on TODAY - it is important to have 100% clarity as to where responsibility for UK national security decisions now lies.
We must anticipate adversaries attempting to exploit any perceived weakness.
Raab stated that Johnson had asked him to stand in for “as long as is necessary”, adding that the government will also be adhering to “collective responsibility and principles that inform that.”
“It’s very difficult for Dom[inic Raab] because he feels he has been given the authority to chair meetings, reach a consensus and make decisions but the rest of the Cabinet appear to be going around saying it’s a collective,” a Tory ally reportedly said. “It’s fine for it to be a collective, but that’s no good if no one’s leading it.”
Another Tory source said that none of the current government line-up have an “power base” of their own and many are nervous to make decisions on their own because they feel “extremely insecure” about their positions.
This means that on key decisions like whether the lockdown will be relaxed or extended “nothing will happen until Boris is back in the saddle,” they stated.
