Bereaved relatives of people who died with coronavirus have called for “nothing short” of Boris Johnson’s resignation following the publication of Sue Gray’s highly-anticipated report.
Members of the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group said the Prime Minister must step down, as they praised Ms Gray for “telling it like it is”, despite not being able to publish her report in full.
Mr Johnson apologised and insisted “I get it and I will fix it” after the limited inquiry into criticised “failures of leadership and judgment”.
Rivka Gottlieb, who lost her father Michael to Covid aged 73 during the first lockdown in April 2020, said Mr Johnson’s “position is completely untenable” and he “cannot be taken seriously”.
The 50-year-old from north London told the PA news agency: “(I feel) disgusted, quite frankly, nothing short of his resignation will be enough at this point.
“It feels like he’s abdicating responsibility again. And his apology is completely worthless because I don’t believe a word he says.
“There was a culture in Downing Street of partying and boozing and not taking public office as seriously as they should have done and that has become very clear.”
Ms Gottlieb described her father as “a doting grandpa, just the loveliest most generous, funny guy” who was “at the centre of our lives”.
Only eight people were able to attend her father’s funeral, who were not allowed to go up to the coffin as it was lowered into the ground, with hundreds of mourners attending an online prayer service.
Asked if she had any message for the PM, she replied simply: “Resign.”
Ms Gottlieb praised Ms Gray for her report, which comes following weeks of “long drawn out revelation after revelation”, adding that she found it “shocking to see it in black and white”.
She said: “I’m incredibly grateful to Sue Gray for saying it as it is, even though she couldn’t release her full report, she made it very clear, and it’s a very damning report of how people in high office should not behave. But it’s been really, really hard.”
Like every other person who has lost someone they love to Covid under the leadership of this man and his cabinet, I am beyond exhausted, distressed and disgusted by the shameful circus that is playing out at the heart of Westminster.
Another member of the group, Fran Hall, said Mr Johnson is “unfit to remain in office”.
Her husband Steve Mead died three weeks after the couple were married in 2020.
Ms Hall, 61, from Buckinghamshire, told PA: “Even as a redacted and reduced summary of her findings it is ‘crystal clear’ (as cabinet ministers are always so fond of saying) that the Prime Minister is unfit to remain in office.
“Like every other person who has lost someone they love to Covid under the leadership of this man and his cabinet, I am beyond exhausted, distressed and disgusted by the shameful circus that is playing out at the heart of Westminster.”
Kathryn de Prudhoe, whose father Tony Clay died with Covid-19 in April 2020, criticised the Government’s “cavalier attitude” towards the rules.
The 47-year-old from Leeds, said: “The rest of the country were able to work out what was and wasn’t allowed and the majority stuck to it. My family certainly did.
“My dad died from Covid-19 alone in hospital in April 2020. We had to negotiate the strict public health measures in place whilst dealing with traumatic loss but we did it without breaking any rules.
“My mum isolated for 11 days after losing her husband and we had a 20-minute funeral for five people at the local undertakers.
“If we could do it, the very people making those rules and briefing them to the nation ought to have been able to do it.
“The fact they didn’t leads me to only one conclusion: they thought the rules were for everyone but them and simply didn’t care if their actions risked spreading a virus that kills people. That isn’t leadership.”
