UK Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson aka ‘Boris’ said last year that he would rather 'let the bodies pile high in their thousands' than impose a lockdown as the coronavirus pandemic raged across Britain, sources told the Daily Mail over the weekend. Photo: Independent

Dominic M. Cummings (in photo), the former chief advisor to UK Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson aka ‘Boris’, has said he had warned Johnson that a plan to renovate his Downing Street flat using money from Conservative donors was ‘unethical, foolish, possibly illegal and almost certainly broke the rules on proper disclosure of political donations.’ Photo: standard.com

The Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into governance in the Virgin Islands was called by former Governor Augustus J. U. Jaspert, left, who was accused of being racist and antagonistic against the democratically elected government led by Premier Andrew A. Fahie (R1), right. Photo: VINO/File

Johnson allegedly said last year that he would rather "let the bodies pile high in their thousands" than impose a 3^rd lockdown as the coronavirus pandemic raged across Britain, the Daily Mail has reported.

It said sources revealed that Johnson made the comment at a meeting at 10 Downing Street in October where he eventually agreed to impose a second national lockdown.

But they said his frustration at having to impose new measures led him to say, "No more f---ing lockdowns - let the bodies pile high in their thousands!"

‘Shocking & sickening’

According to Business Insider on Monday, April 26, 2021, spokesperson for the opposition Labour Party said: "If this report is true, then these are truly shocking and sickening comments from Boris Johnson.

"It is hard to imagine how families who have lost loved ones to COVID will feel reading them. Boris Johnson must make a public statement as soon as possible in his response to this report."

A senior minister on Monday said the report was not true. "It's been categorically denied by practically everyone," Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told Sky News.

"We're getting into the sort of comedy chapter now of these gossip stories - you know, unnamed sources by unnamed advisors talking about unnamed events," Wallace said. "You know, look, none of this is serious."

Can PM Johnson be trusted?

The report followed an extraordinary row between Johnson and Dominic M. Cummings, his former chief advisor.

Cummings has said he had warned Johnson that a plan to renovate his Downing Street flat using money from Conservative donors was "unethical, foolish, possibly illegal and almost certainly broke the rules on proper disclosure of political donations."

Downing Street last week attempted to defuse the row over the flat's refurbishment by saying Johnson would meet the cost himself.

Cummings published a blog post on Friday, April 23, 2021, denying accusations from Downing Street that he was behind a recent leak of text messages between Johnson and the billionaire James Dyson.

PM Johnson had reportedly called journalists at three newspapers to accuse Cummings of being behind the leaks.

Cummings also denied being the "chatty rat" who'd briefed journalists about the lockdown in October.

He said that a different advisor, Henry Newman, was the main suspect but that Johnson had wanted to delay the inquiry because that advisor was a close friend of his fiancée, Carrie Symonds. Newman has denied this, Business Insider reported.

Hypocrisy & Imperialism?

The same PM Johnson, although faced with many allegations of corruption, cronyism and mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in the death of thousands in the UK, has backed a questionable Commissioner of Inquiry into Governance in the Virgin Islands in the height of the global coronavirus pandemic.

The CoI was called by former Governor Augustus J. U. Jaspert, who was accused of being racist and antagonistic against the democratically elected government led by Premier Andrew A. Fahie (R1).

The one-man Commissioner CoI has also been slammed as being imperialistic and seeking to set back the advances of governance in the territory, as the VI seeks self-determination and is due for Constitutional Review with the UK.