by Andrew MacAskill
LONDON (Reuters) – Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will appear before a commission of inquiry into the handling of the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday.
Boris Johnson will be questioned for two days as part of the official inquiry into why Britain suffered one of the highest death rates in the world during the pandemic.
Families of some of those who died after contracting COVID-19 plan to confront Boris Johnson, who reportedly told colleagues he would rather see people die in large numbers than order a second lockdown, outside the building where the auditions are taking place.
Boris Johnson’s testimony could also be embarrassing for the current Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, at the time finance minister.
Testimony presented to the commission of inquiry describes how, like Boris Johnson, he would have preferred to let people die rather than implement a new confinement out of fear for the economy.
The COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 230,000 people in Britain and millions of people have been infected with the disease.
(Reporting Andrew MacAskill; French version Camille Raynaud)
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