As I see it | Indian democracy can learn from Cummings’ dissection of Britain’s Covid-19 failings
- Rockets from the former special adviser to British PM Boris Johnson included that his old boss was ‘unfit for the job’ and that Health Secretary Matt Hancock repeatedly lied to the public
- This grilling helped the public understand what went wrong in the early days of the pandemic – meaning they can hold their government to account now, rather than wait till the crisis has passed
Some commentators likened the seven-hour proceedings before the House of Commons joint science and health select committees to a Netflix miniseries.
The former special adviser, asked to testify on the country’s Covid-19 response thus far, painted a picture of blame-shifting, deceit and incompetence in the government and even said his old boss was “unfit for the job”.
Cummings reserved the worst criticism for Health Secretary Matt Hancock, accusing him of repeatedly lying to the public.
With references to the 1996 film Independence Day, a Spider-Man meme and even an F-word (when he quoted someone else), it’s tempting to say the hearing was entertaining.
We are likely to see intense discussions of Cummings’ revelations, and the government will resist some of his claims.
The proceedings are a dress rehearsal of sorts for a public inquiry next year on Britain’s Covid-19 response.