Fake fake news

Over the weekend, The Financial Times and Sunday Times published well researched reports on the Government's apparent lack of planning and preparedness. This resulted in the unusual step of the Government to release two 3,000 word rebuttals on the claims.

But more interestingly is that the BBC has seen fit not to mention either of these stories the weekend, especially the Sunday Times one which paints the PM in such a shocking light.

While I agree that these claims are unproven, they are claims that have the highest public interest, and in the past, on many occasions, the BBC has referenced claims made in newspaper reports in "quotation marks". But not over the weekend.

Despite the Government engaged in heavy firefighting due to these stories and the spread of them on social media, the BBC reported on the daily press conferences as normal.

The BBC's chief political editor, Laura Kuenssberg, has not filed a story or reported on these serious stories.

It is all rather odd. And meanwhile another 600 people were added to the official casualty list, another Jumbo jet sized number of deaths, and the BBC seems to think that all of this is normal.

And still there is no news on what the medium term plan is for COVID-19 planning. What happens in three or six weeks when the lockdown is loosened, how will that be handled? What will open, what will not? Can people gather in groups of two, three, ten or more? Will social distancing still be in force?

The Government does not say, maybe it doesn't know.

Such a plan should be part of a larger strategy which went from first confirmed case to the successful deployment of a vaccination and the population safe again.

I heard from a colleague in Denmark today, that plans are in place for further lockdowns are needed to deal with a second and third wave. It would be the same for the UK to, meaning any potential return to normality might only be temporary.

It is possible that social gatherings in pubs, bars, restaurants and sporting events might not be deemed safe until the autumn, winter, next year or 2022?

Imagine that!