I am genuinely unsurprised by any of these slowly drip fed details. Can we all agree not to vote Tory ever again?

Johnson’s lifetime pension and expenses should be revoked. Manslaughter charges should be brought, to Johnson and his cohorts.

People voted for Boris because he was funny ...NOT so funny now is he. Totally Incompetent ! Thank you Conservative Voter's and the Conservative MPs who kept quiet for this legacy !

I think what I find so particularly sickening about this enquiry is the callousness with which they treated the elderly ("nature's way of dealing with old people") whilst simultaneously lauding & revering that generation's courage and bravery during the VE BH in 2020 (because it provided an opportunity for a cheap PR stunt & boosted his popularity - the only thing BJ has ever cared about). We owe our very freedoms and lives to an entire generation that sacrificed & suffered so much and in return they were condemned to hideous, lonely deaths by a heartless, callous government that considered them irrelevant - and why? Because they were considered a drain on the economy rather than an asset. Their lives had value & meaning but to them they were worthless. Utterly repulsive, despicable and evil.

Everybody who thought that Boris was a better alternative to Corbyn and voted for Boris, every media outlet who facilitated Boris' rise to power this is on you.

"What did you think was going to happen when you put this man in charge" Is what should be put on the side of every bus in the UK.

As an NHS staff member who worked every day of the pandemic, this is no surprise hopefully the public must have woken up to this shower of liars now.

Never saw my mother for 18 months. She had cancer and was shielding alone in her flat. When she finally died there were 11 people at her funeral which lasted 10 minutes. We couldn't even meet up with each other to comfort one another. If you voted for this you are culpable.

PRISON SENTENCES .... nothing else counts!

Prison for Johnson, Sunack & Hancock. Also stripped of their Financial Assets.

Couldn't agree more James, this is truly sickening and awful to listen to. How has he been allowed to just walk away without any consequences.

Boris has never thought about anyone but himself! Always has and always will! How can people be surprised by the 'revalations' from the Covid inquiry?

The worst thing is, is that nobody is surprised. Absolute scoundrels who should be behind bars for manslaughter.

Perhaps, electing public school boys who are arrogant, egotistical and venal isn't the best route to take if you want a government that actually takes into account the safety and welfare of all people.

What depresses me so much is 10s of thousands will still vote for them.

British politics, and Westminster in particular, is stuck so firmly in the "doff cap, tug forelock" deferential past, that the chance of mass-murdering political leaders facing any kind of just retribution is sickeningly remote. We need a complete re-set.

The government was and still is totally out of control.

There needs to be severe prison sentences for this

The whole system needs to be dismantled. Incompetent and corrupt

It got worse today, Boris said, and to make sure that he was not misunderstood, he wrote down that anyone 60 years old and above should except death and make way for the young to live their lives. He's a monster!

Now will the entire Voting Public believe that Boris Johnson did say, “Let the bodies pile high”?

Anyone who voted tory, for whatever reason, is to blame for this.

Thank you James, it did feel very lonely, talking to other people, trying to point out how inept and disgraceful what was going on. he showed such an absentmined contempt for all other people. I am still in utter dispair, because he will get away with it. It is utterly shameless. Thank you for speaking up

There absolutely needs to be consequences for those awful incompetent people making those terrible decisions that resulted in the deaths of thousands. if there are none, we need to change the whole system because it is completely rotten

Why are they STILL in Government when they should be in jail? Crimes against humanity!!!

As the saying goes; "If you put the Crown on a Clown, the Palace becomes a Circus." It follows that if you put the Crown on a pirate, the country becomes a pirate ship. 13 years is all it took.

I've heard the term "bed blocker" used before in talk about the NHS. That's usually referring to a person in the hospital who is actually well enough to be discharged, but cannot be discharged because there is no safe place to release them to - either the person has no-one who can help care for them at home, or there is no available place in social care, and it's not possible for that person to safely care for themselves at home.

Just your daily reminder that it's we the people that let this happen and are still letting it happen. They answer to the masses and the masses are as ignorant as they are. A government is a reflection of it's people.

'let the bodies pile high'... no other words needed

We were clearly expendable, the only thing that matters to these criminals, is money

They are confirming Johnson is a gormless monster.

I am SO sorry to everyone who lost loved ones to the pandemic. This must be searing news, even if you already suspected it. I learned my lesson about the Tories during Thatcher's 2nd term when they were selling off the utilities to people who already had money, bombarding us all with ads about it. I voted Labour at Thatcher's 3rd election, and every one since. We each have our own journey to reach the voting decisions we make. I am just sorry that it has been so painful and so fateful for so many.

Everyone in the country needs to know this

I used to live in posh Chichester, surrounded by Tories who thought Johnson would be a jolly wheeze as PM. I told them there would be a terrible price for this glibness, but I never saw Covid coming. Three of those Tories died of it.

I can remember the first thing people asked you was "Have you had the jab?" not "How are you?" Those that said no were shunned like the plague.Johnson should be imprisoned without trial , how can a person openly and repeatedly lie on TV and embezzle billions without trial is beyond me.

OMG, what a piece! Thank you for such a brilliant, inspired, authentic and healing piece of journalism. Thank you for putting this on air.

And of course, there is a practical media blackout on this issue!

The supporters of Boris have indeed got blood on their hands!! Yes you mate!!!!

To be honest I'm starting to appreciate the Orwell' "ignorance is bliss". I suspected they were dumb and incompetent. Now I'm learning how much worse than my expectatios they were and I don't feel happier or safer for it. It's actually terrifying.

James, James James, ,YOU and people like you put this man in charge.

But isn't it the calling card of the Tory Party that none of them feels obliged to look at what any of the rest of them are doing? It seems like Sunak didn't bother himself to consider whether any of this was going to come out or not because he didn't bother himself to look at what BoJo or any of the government were doing. That way he didn't have to stick his head above the wall to say 'wait? why are you doing that? have you thought about what it will cause?' He didn't bother to ask himself that either. The entire bunch of them consider that they can quite happily go on doing whatever they want without a thought for anyone else. Why allow them anywhere near a government position?

Disgusting and disgraceful. All of those involved should be interred and prevented from coming anywhere near real people. They are feral to their core.

I thought exactly this would happen unfortunately , he was a clown as London mayor and I couldn’t believe the stupidly of the English to vote him in as P M he’s a child and being P M was this child’s dream job , even he couldn’t believe it , 2 papers for brexit one for in and one for out then go with the flow even though he knew it was madness

No matter what comes out of this enquiry, they will all walk away with new titles and pockets full of cash. There will be no punishment what so ever.

Rory Stewart challenged one of his Tory MP friends who had voted for Johnson in his failed bid for the Tory leadership. "You know he'll be a disaster don't you?" asked Rory. "I know he will, but he's an election winner!"

If anyone says they're surprised about the government's behaviour during the pandemic are tories . Everyone else knew what was going on ⚒️

Johnson went against scientific advice and told families they could meet up for Christmas. I never went to my family meeting at Christmas, in which 5 member caught Covid. My beautiful, health sister was admitted to hospital a few days later and never came back home. Johnson, Rishi and some of the others, have caused families like mine so much pain and grief. When this contempt and callous party get voted out of power, I will feel a little justice has been done. But sadly, we'll never get full justice and these people will go on to make millions and not care one bit.

Anyone with a braincell knew he was demonstrably unfit for office.

A local fish salesman said that overnight sending fish to france trebled in price and the paperwork, well even worse. Yet today little england govmt announces 6k businesses close down this year in little engkand and wales but never mentioned brexit. Only cost of electric, rates etc. They r the lowest of the low.

That is absolutely disgusting to hear, and yet we must hear it. ‘Bed blockers’ is absolutely abhorrent. And yet I will never be surprised that these phrases came from the then prime minister himself. Thank you for covering this, James. We must know what they are all truely like, if people didn’t know already

It's not just B Johnson are the people who did nothing about it. Talking between themselves made no difference. Too many people died because of Johnson and the people who did nothing. they all should be made accountable.

I for one was shouting " do not put Boris Johnson in Downing Street" from day 1. The majority was fooled by his 'Emperor's new clothes' to really see what sort of a leader he was...... WE SHOULD NOT MAKE THIS MISTAKE AGAIN....

The only surprising thing is that we all watched it happen but since then we've been drip fed what we already knew for years

We must bring more attention to this inquiry.

They thought they’d get off scot-free no matter what…and so far, they have. 🤦‍♀️

Astonishingly, the Covid inquiry isn't making the headlines every day! I thank you for expressing our anger. For me, and I lost my Dad during lockdowns although not to Covid, for me I don't imagine we could have saved everyone. What I hate is that they DID NOT DO THEIR BEST. If they had done their jobs, done their best, i could forgive.

And right before the inquiry began he joined GBN🤔The typical narcissists response to criminal accountability is to try and promote their image in a positive light in true Big Brother fashion.

They should be on the front of all newspapers

This entire enquiry is pointless if there aren't repercussions to the behaviour of this appalling government.

OMG I lost my last family member to covid I can't understand how this is ffs just wow 💔

To Give a Platform to a Proven Liar or Liars is as Dangerous as it comes !

Scotland has only been warning the english elecorate about cruel tory callousness forever…but NOW they are been treated with the same contempt by tories they voted for and don’t like it very much…imagine how we feel having them imposed on us despite never having voted for them…go ahead england let them off with it and vote tory again all but assuring independence for us in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

It makes me wonder what was said that isn't on record as if this isn't despicable enough.

I have always thought that Jonson did not get ill. It was to shift the narrative.

What's astounding is that his position didn't change at all after being hospitalised with COVID himself! Sign of a true sociopath.

As usual, James is 'spot on' with his tongue-in-cheek analysis of BloJo and his inept government...

My brother died in hospital from Covid, never even got to go to his funeral through Covid

My dad (80-something) has been saying for years 'I love Boris because he makes me chuckle' and 'You can't criticise Boris for doing his best'. Interested to see how those views are holding up today.

These revelations come as a surprise to absolutely no one.

If it were a wartime situation some callousness is understandable and many protagonists go through agonies of conscience . But when all you are fighting for is the money it is beyond contemptible. See also the blood transfusion and Post Office prosecution scandals.

Boris and Co should have their assets seized, donated to charity, and then be imprisoned for a considerable amount of time.

Nothing of this would have been possible if 99% of the media was not complicit and James needs to start including the mainstream media as one of the key responsible not only on this but on almost everything that is wrong currently. They are not holding power to account. They are power’s PR/marketing team

No accountability means freedom to be reckless has priority over the rights and reasonable expectations of a population. There needs to be a rethink about political responsibility.

"A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths are a statistic." - Josef Stalin.

"I wonder who's lives they thought were worth saving?' ... That hit harder than I expected it to.

I use to say in a joke like fashion that a tory was so devolved of humanity that while in government they would sit around the cabinet table discussing and plotting how the country could happily afford to lose all the sick, disabled, unemployed and elderly............and here we are finding out it was actually true.

When someone reacts with 'surprise' to a horror in the recent past, it's a deliberate attempt to avoid complicity...

Such a pity Lucy Letby and Beverley Allitt wasn't Johnson's nurses when he was in hospital with Covid.

Feel the same that i have for the past 10-15 years if im honest. The government has had no shame for so long, i honestly just feel numb to them now. Our government rotted from within years ago

I’m South African (45) married to UK citizen (though not living in uk, never have). Grew up (as did many SA citizens) with an admiration for uk politics and their apparent integrity and other virtues. This genuinely makes me sick to my stomach- like a hollowness inside. Worst still is that so many would have him back! Huh?!? What’s happened?! Or have I always been deluded??

Also keep in mind how economically illiterate Boris is. The economy is made up of people, to save the economy you need to save people. The countries that did the best economically in the pandemic had quick lockdowns which meant short because their were less cases to go through the population. They could then open up when there were 0 cases and consumption would go back up to close to pre-pandemic levels as people would feel safe. Whereas in the UK we had 2 years of people feeling unsafe, as numbers never dropped to 0, we had long lockdowns because they had left them too late. The economy was left in tatters and over 100,000 people d ying, 18th highest d eath toll per capita on the planet and highest island nation on the planet per capita.

You helped put him in power James. You were more interested in a small amount of antisemitism in the labour party than who was going to be PM. Corbyn put together a shadow response team to covid when china announced its existence, and sent ashworth over to the health ministry to see what the pandemic plans were, just incase it became one. Boris missed 6 cobra meetings in a row.

Boris and all those around him should be charged with criminal negligence at the very least. I am disgusted by the lack of empathy and responsibility that they exude. I knew who he was from the very start and tried to warn others, i do not take any pleasure in saying 'i told you so'.

It's hard to listen to this when you were one of the standard Corbyn sneerers at the time. You can't attack and ridicule Johnson's opposition constantly and then point the finger at everyone else for electing him without without a modicum of shame for having some part in it

Sunack and Johnson what a scam.

Some of us knew how bad this man was. It's not like he hid what kind of man he is. Hope the people that gave him power learn something from this. I think It's worse than that. The delay had purpose, They had to get there duck's in a row so they can find a way to rake it in, can't open a PPE firm in 24 hours.

The phrases used by cabinet ministers and staff ring loudly of mismanagement at the least, and manslaughter at the worst.

You are absolutely correct. The situation is insane. :(

Sadly, these revelations aren't surprising.

Thank you James. I was following you throughout and I knew you were right then but I fear nothing will happen to these charlatans.

There should be CONSEQUENCES for these abhorrent people!! WHO in their right mind wants ANYTHING more to do with him!! It boils my blood!!

They should all be prosecuted for their criminal behaviour.

And bear in mind that there are still a significant number of Tory MPs who would back him again. Apparently it was no problem for him to collect the 100 signatures he needed to enter the last leadership contest. The Tories have no shame, no remorse, no guilt. None at all. If they did, this government would resign immediately and allow a general election.

It seems to me that the stuff that is coming out of the enquiry is being downplayed and somewhat hushed up. Am I right? Why aren't people outside screaming at Johnson and Cummings and Sunak and Handcock et al?? Why?? Keep shouting James...

What gets my goat is the fact the dodgy ppe dealings carried out by their mates won’t serve a sentence, and they will all get off with a slap on the wrist. Their contempt and arrogance will just grow.

It is only the exact details that are a revelations, the overall situation is pretty much as we knew and/or expected.

I used to work in The City and in Whitehall so I know what it’s like there. I remember telling people at the start of the pandemic that the conversations in number ten were going to be just like that and people thought I was being over the top and being told “they can’t be that bad” because I didn’t like Boris! 😂😂😂😂😭

What I want to know is whether this covid enquiry is just another talking shop or if law breaking and corruption is uncovered that the police and the courts will deal with these people appropriately.

Look at how the devolved administrations of the UK reacted. . . . . . . THAT IS QUESTIONS that should be asked. The entire media and the inquiry is focused on covering that up.

The missing messages are pure criminality and a slap in the face to what most poeple went through. That there will be no justice is increadbly sad.