TONY BLAIR was put on the spot as he was questioned on whether Boris Johnson should face an inquiry on the “failures” of the Government amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
Tony Blair was asked whether it would be “fair” for Boris Johnson to face a public inquiry on his conduct during the coronavirus pandemic as he did in the aftermath of the War in Iraq. Sky News host Adam Boulton questioned the former Prime Minister as he discussed his proposals to end the lockdown Mr Johnson declared to slow down the pandemic. Mr Boulton said: “I want to ask you about responsibility.
“You, of course, with the whole post-9/11 and Iraq War, were held accountable and there was a public investigation.
“If we have a situation where more people died because the Government was off the mark, or because we have a situation where the Government said were going to get a consignment of PPE from Turkey and it doesnt come, is it fair to hold the Prime Minister and ministers accountable for those failures which have fairly drastic consequences?”
The British Government confirmed on Sunday a shipment of 40,000 additional personal protective equipment (PPE) expected to arrive from Turkey on Sunday had been delayed and would only arrive on Monday evening at the earliest.
Mr Blair insisted the current situation should not spark criticism as he insisted the Government is facing a “hellishly difficult challenge”: “I just think in these circumstances, having been in the situation myself of taking difficult decisions in Government, its important to realise this is a hellishly difficult challenge.
“Theres never been anything like it. It would be very easy to come along in hindsight and say, we could have done this, we could have done that.
“And that will happen, by the way, whether I think it should happen or not. But I just think its important right now…it shouldnt be the focus of our attention.
“The focus of our attention should be to make sure that the next phase of this happens in the best way possible.”
But despite his conciliatory tones, the appearance of Mr Blair on the programme sparked fury among social media users.
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