UK PM rejects claim gov’t failures led to avoidable COVID deaths

Johnson refuses account by ex-adviser Cummings, maintaining that his cabinet has been ‘governed by a determination to protect life’ during pandemic.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has dismissed allegations from Dominic Cummings, his former chief aide, that government failures had caused tens of thousands of unnecessary coronavirus deaths. Cummings, who was Johnson’s top adviser until late last year, delivered an excoriating attack on his former boss and top ministers during seven hours of testimony before a parliamentary committee on Wednesday. But Johnson on Thursday denied that government incompetence and mismanagement had caused avoidable deaths, insisting instead that officials had been “governed by a determination to protect life” and shield the UK’s National Health Service from becoming overwhelmed.