The Times - UK (2021-12-22)

12 Wednesday December 22 2021 | the times

News

It’s you and

me versus

Omicron

Analysis

T

he prime

minister’s best

hope of

avoiding more

restrictions is

that people have not been

listening to his advice

(Chris Smyth writes).

Last night, in a striking

illustration of the

political uncertainty that

is hampering pandemic

decision-making, Boris

Johnson in effect threw

control of Omicron over

to millions of individual

choices.

When his senior

ministers decided they

were not yet convinced

that the Omicron data

justified further curbs,

Johnson was left to rely

on people cutting back on

socialising to slow the

spread of the coronavirus

and avoid an

unmanageable peak.

Speaking after

yesterday’s cabinet

meeting, he regretted the

effect this would have on

hospitality but said it

would be “very helpful”.

The irony is that for

weeks Johnson could not

bring himself to urge

people to cut back on

social gatherings. When

announcing plan B advice

to work from home, he

encouraged people to

press on with Christmas

parties. When Chris

Whitty, England’s chief

medical officer, suggested

we all cut back on

socialising, Johnson

insisted he was “not

cancelling people’s

parties” and they should

only “think carefully”

and get a test first.

Tory MPs went

apoplectic at Whitty for a

warning that led to pubs

and restaurants being hit

by waves of cancellations.

Yet now, hopes of

avoiding a post-Christmas

circuit breaker rest to a

large degree on last

week’s spontaneous

caution. The Scientific

Advisory Group for

Emergencies (Sage) has

acknowledged that this

kind of behavioural

change “could

significantly affect the

peak of infections and

hospitalisations”,

potentially avoiding

NHS-busting scenarios.

A diminished Johnson

has to hope the public

have not been listening

to him because it is

increasingly unclear how

much his cabinet

ministers are. With at

least ten of them lined up

against more restrictions

and dozens of MPs

primed to rebel, it is

doubtful whether he

could have forced

through tough new rules.

The government can’t

agree on how to manage

the pandemic, so now,

more than ever, it’s in all

of our hands.

Boris Johnson told the nation in a televised address that there would be no further Covid restrictions before Christmas

News Coronavirus

Libertarian leadership rivals just

Chris Smyth Whitehall Editor
Matt Dathan Home Affairs Editor

Cabinet split

Inclined to tougher restrictions

Michael Gove, levelling-up secretary

Sajid Javid, health secretary

Nadine Dorries, culture secretary

Sceptical about the need to act

Rishi Sunak, chancellor

Liz Truss, foreign secretary

Grant Shapps, transport secretary

Kwasi Kwarteng, business secretary

Steve Barclay, Cabinet Office minister

Jacob Rees-Mogg, Commons leader

Allies of Boris Johnson have turned on
“pathetic” leadership rivals, accusing
them of using a cabinet debate on
coronavirus restrictions to position
themselves to succeed him.
Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, has
been accused of “desperate” self-pro-
motion by talking up her opposition to
new rules while others in government
predict that Rishi Sunak, the chancellor,
and others will “look like morons” if de-
teriorating data forces new restrictions.
Several ministers including Truss
have let it be known that they opposed
tightening coronavirus rules, to the
surprise of colleagues who say they did
not speak out in cabinet.
“It’s amazing how many people seem
to have spoken up who didn’t actually
say anything,” one senior Downing
Street source said.
The jockeying for position in
government is a reflection of Johnson’s
weakness after a series of setbacks in
recent weeks that have led to Tory MPs
openly questioning his position as
prime minister.
At a cabinet meeting on Monday,
Johnson presented ministers with new
data on the Omicron variant of the virus
and canvassed opinions on further
action. Sources described the debate as
nuanced, with ministers attempting to
challenge the data in detail, and with Sir
Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific ad-
viser, responding on behalf of govern-
ment modellers.
However, some attendees were
surprised by subsequent reports of min-
isters standing up to the prime minister
and scientific advisers. Jacob Rees-
Mogg, the leader of the Commons,
stated principled objections to restric-
tions while Grant Shapps, the transport
secretary, also spoke out against them.
“I understand Rishi and Grant’s posi-
tioning — they represent sectors at risk
and which would require bailouts etc,
ditto Kwasi [Kwarteng, the business sec-
retary],” one government source said.
“Liz Truss — less so. What industries is
she trying to protect? It smells like she’s
trying to heavily position herself as a
Conservative libertarian... It reeks of
desperation and it’s all a bit pathetic.”
Truss did not speak out in cabinet
other than a brief remark about the
need for more data but was prominently
reported as an opponent of restrictions.
Another source said: “I don’t know why
the foreign secretary has a view on the
domestic closure of hospitality. I’m not
sure that’s in the brief.”
A further cabinet source was more
forthright: “There seems to be lots of
people vehemently briefing out against
further restrictions but they’re going to
look like morons when we have to im-
pose restrictions within the next week.
Cabinet playing out in public isn’t a
good look but we know why people are
doing it — they’re pitching themselves
for future leadership contests but all
it does is damages everyone.”
After a hundred Tory
MPs voted against new
restrictions this month,
there is widespread
suspicion in govern-
ment that Truss is at-
tempting to ingratiate
herself with libertarian
backbenchers.
However, allies of Truss
deny she is motivated by
leadership ambition, in-
sisting that she has al-

ways been a vocal defender of free

markets and that unhappiness with

pandemic restrictions on economic

competitiveness is hardly out of charac-

ter. Her opposition to further curbs is

motivated by conviction, they argue.

Truss ultimately accepted Johnson’s

decision to impose plan B and would

probably back him if he felt the need to

go further. She is not expected to follow

the example of Lord Frost, who re-

signed as Brexit minister at the weekend

in opposition to the new restrictions.

Sajid Javid, the health secretary, is

among the most cautious in cabinet

given his responsibility for the NHS, but

unlike his predecessor Matt Hancock is

not full-throated in his demand for fur-

ther restrictions. “Saj seemed more re-

laxed then you’d think — he’s not as

punchy as Hancock in these meetings,”

one source said.

Michael Gove, the levelling-up secre-

tary, has long been convinced of the

need to act fast and quickly when it

comes to the virus. Nadine Dorries, the

culture secretary, who previously

backed the extension of Covid passes, is

said to see the case for further measures

despite the impact on her sector. Many

of those who have resisted restrictions

are understood not to be opposed on

principle but have yet to be convinced

that the data justifies going further.

Steve Barclay, the Cabinet Office

minister and Gove’s successor as chair-

man of the Covid committee, is less

hardline and not yet convinced on the

need for more restrictions. However,

he, Kwarteng and others will not op-

pose going harder if the data worsens.

6 The Metropolitan Police has referred

itself to the police watchdog after a

Green Party peer complained about its

handling of the alleged Downing Street

Christmas party on December 18 last

year. Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb

wrote to the Independent Office for

Police Conduct (IOPC) to say that

because of the “extensive” police pres-

ence in Downing Street there was a

“case to answer” for the Met “aiding and

abetting a criminal offence, or deliber-

ately failing to enforce the law in favour

of government politicians and their

staff”. Jones also accused Dame Cressi-

da Dick, the Met Commissioner, of re-

fusing to investigate. The Met referred

this part of the complaint to the Mayor’s

Office for Policing And Crime

(Mopac), which sets the direction

and budget for the Met.

The No 10 event is at the

heart of an investigation led

by Sue Gray, a senior civil ser-

vant, into lockdown-breaking

parties across Whitehall. The

IOPC was contacted for

comment. Mopac said: “A

complaint has been re-

ceived and is under

consideration.”

Staging a coup

against

Johnson is not

so easy,

Daniel

Finkelstein,

page 33

Liz Truss is said
to have made
only a brief
comment about
the need for data