"Boris does seem to need the approval of his peers in Whitehall and is a great appeaser," says Dr Timothy Bradshaw. "He caves in everywhere, at the expense of ordinary people on behalf of massive corporations."
If the Government still has confidence in the vaccines then it needs to act like it. If it doesn't then it needs to be upfront about this so a proper debate can be had about what that means for the future.
Boris said the lockdown has been "overwhelmingly important". But several places have seen numbers decline absent a lockdown, and evidence suggests the infection peak in UK occurred before our three lockdowns were imposed.
Has Boris lost his faith in the vaccines? That's certainly the impression you'd get from what he has said this morning. But he is wrong to claim that infections have fallen mainly because of the lockdown.
Rishi Sunak has confirmed that he opposed the imposition of a "circuit breaker" lockdown in September due to the impact on people's jobs and livelihoods, but that the "ultimate" decision was Boris Johnson's.
Infections were falling in the week before March 23rd 2020, and no-lockdown Sweden fared better than the UK. So how can lockdown have come too late? Should have stuck with the original plan, Boris.
