Back to Top

Category: Corona

Red Tops

Red Tops

In our latest series of Populist Press Parodies from the Red Tops, we tackle the big issues of the day. In case of confusion in our age of disinformation, please find our fact and fantasy checker at the bottom of the page.

Daily Maul
Lunch Box Luxury
Daily Excess
Spanish Lies
"The Sun"
Page 3 remodelled

FACTS v. FANTASIES

FANTASY Jacob Rees-Mogg did not live in fact live on a diet of Cream Crackers. He did however proclaim that British fish were happier now that they have Brexit. It’s just a matter of time before he asks for the restoration of the birch.

FACT Ford has decided to raise the price of a number of models due to increased costs of manufacture due to Brexit.

FACT The Government plan to only give one shot of the COVID vaccine. This would provide 70% protection. There is no evidence to suggest that this will lead to herd immunity. It is also feasible that it would mean that insufficient protection is given, providing the Corona virus with an open doorway to the development of a more virulent strain. We will essentially be the clinical trial for this risky experiment.

Write to your MP on the risks of this strategy

Re-Boot Britain
Join us at Re-Boot Britain – click to support our work

FACT A large number of Tory MPs joined banned website Parler.

Shame these MP’s on social media. Request a public apology for their sins

FANTASY There are no Brexit Universities.

FACT British people living in Spain were surprised to learn that they could not stay in their second homes indefinitely and that they needed to make a financial contribution to their country of residence. They failed to understand that freedom of movement works both ways under Brexit.

FACT A bag of sovereignty is being auctioned on e-bay. Sadly, no one has thought it to offer any value.

FACT Just days after we signed the Brexit trade deal we are breaking it. In particular we plan to use neonecotonoids on sugar beet. This chemical is toxic to bees. It is estimated that once the bees die, we are not long for the world either.

Sign the petition and write to your MP on this matter

FACT The European Union are offering to help Ireland from their fund post Brexit. In the longer term it is probably that Ireland and Northern Ireland will simply cut England out of the equation through their dealings.

FICTION French model Rachelle Gauchette is not travelling to Scotland or Ireland to boost morale for independence or reunification … yet. Napoleon did not have a Napoleon complex. The offer of a night with Nigel Farage is a dirty lie.

Find all our Red Tops at Gutterpress

Join us on Zoom every Monday at 8 pm – click the image to join

Hierarchy of needs

Just 20 days into Brexit and it seems that nearly every industry and sector of society are either asking for a hand out or a hand up after Brexit. Some of you will be familiar with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Here’s the Brexit hierarchy of needs:

The Dark Side of the Loon

Join us MON 8pm GMT on ZOOM

On the run

Working up from the bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy, it has become apparent that our so-called free trade deal is not free, nor frictionless. We can already see low-level shortages of fresh food on supermarket shelves. Tony Hale, managing director of London-based DH Foods, said he had five containers of fresh pork sitting at Rotterdam port that was now “completely rotten”. Another mentioned £500 000 worth of meat rotting after being delayed by our ‘frictionless trade’. Fishermen protested in Downing Street on Monday and the Government tried to buy them off by offering £23 million in compensation for losses. Let’s do the math:

£23 million = £19 166 for each fisherman

Our attempts to secure a Brexit deal for the fishermen have cost £7 BILLION. That’s 304 times more than the sum of money being offered !!

£19 K sounds a lot, but of course it’s barely enough to live on for a year, in return for the fishermen’s silence. A fisherman’s friend once said that “a cod in the hand is worth two in the net”, but this is plainly a fobbing-off strategy. Cod only knows what we’d do without EU …

Controversial thought. Should people who largely voted for Brexit be rewarded for that decision? Arguably not.

These effects are DIRECTLY related to Brexit

The bribe for the fisherman sets an important precedent. If you feel you have been adversely affected by Brexit, simply write to Boris and ask for a ‘bung’.

Breathe

Parliament voted down an amendment to the Brexit Trade Bill which sought to ensure the NHS is excluded from future trade deals. This means that The NHS is once again up for sale on the international markets, breaking yet another Conservative manifesto promise. Expect American styled healthcare charges in the future and the eventual end of our NHS, currently free at the point of delivery. Oh, yes, and the £350 million per week has still not materialised …

Boris Johnson narrowly avoided defeat on a bill to avoid parliamentary scrutiny on trade deals with regimes which commit genocide. One can soon expect Liz Truss to come back from North Korea signing deals for missiles in exchange for cheese.

Breathe in the air
Breathe – support our work by clicking on the mask

Read our satirical spoofs of The Sun, Mail, Express at Private Eyelines

Brain Damage

Maslow did not deal with money in his hierarchy of needs, as it was what fellow traveller Frederick Herzberg termed a ‘dissatisfier’. Simply stated, doubling your salary does not double your motivation, but an inadequate wage is a massive source of dissatisfaction.

Losing your livelihood can also lead to mental health issues, aka what Pink Floyd referred to as ‘brain damage’ on ‘Dark Side of the Moon’. We are currently in the midst of experiencing what could be described as ‘collective PTSD’ in the UK, as lives and livelihoods are destroyed by COVID. Whilst it makes total sense to close down non-essential activities, such as hairdressers, nail bars etc. and to restrict social participation in sports and hospitality, the impacts on mental health are considerable.

Whilst Brexit is not a direct causal factor of these COVID-related closures. Brexit has contributed to our lack of resilience in the UK and therefore our sense of dystopia about the future. Going forward, Brexit will do much more damage to our sense of belonging and place in the world, with impacts on lives and livelihoods. We can only express our sorrow to those people whose lives depend on the resumption of their businesses. All we can do is to point out that the measures taken by Boris Johnson have been too little, too late. This has resulted in repeated lockdowns and restrictions and extended the pain from COVID. Adding Brexit to COVID results in a ‘Britastrophe’.

A stitch in time saves nine – click on the image to save democracy

Learn valuable skills at HOW TO

The Great Gig in the Sky

I am part musician, part scientist, part business academic, so it pains me to say this, but if we had to choose between eating and music, the rational choice would be to eat. Yet our Brexit Government has voted for neither. With shops now emptying of fruit, veg, meat and fish, one could have taken consolation in music. Yet it emerges that Boris Johnson rejected a special deal for musicians working in Europe as part of the Brexit trade deal. I wrote on the issue of musicians working in Europe many years ago, in Voices for Europe and recently the world’s most famous musicians have protested against this criminal assault on the arts by our Government.

Won't get fooled again (by Brexit)
Won’t get fooled again (by Brexit) … We’ll be fighting on the streets – click on Roger Daltrey to help Re-Boot Britain – Graphic by Cold War Steve www.coldwarsteve.com

UK culture secretary Oliver Dowden urged musicians to use their ‘star power’ to lobby the EU to ease new visa and work permit rules. Dowden revealed his pathetic idiocy and ignorance in suggesting that musicians should be able to break international trade agreements. In doing so, he made himself and his Government look especially stupid. The fault rests with third-rate  negotiator Frost, who, instead of looking after the interests of musicians and others, wasted months of negotiations parroting the words that Britain is a sovereign country.

Money

Anthony Grayling reports on further gradual shifts to move our financial services out of Britain.

HMRC are also charging truckers for delays that THEY are causing in terms of customs checks. This will not go well. There have been several reports on extensive delays for lorry drivers. In case you are confused about why this is happening, this helpful diagram explains all:

Alone again, naturally – our place as a 3rd Country

Join our team at About US

Time

Every year is getting shorter never seem to find the time.
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over,
Thought I’d something more to say.

The Government has ended the restrictions on the 48-hour working week, although employers have not complained of feeling unduly shackled by EU standards and the majority of workers working more than 48 hours a week willingly opted out with better pay conditions. This opens the door to the exploitation of poorly paid workers. This breaks the government’s election manifesto pledge and was a key part of the Tories’ appeal to voters in traditional Labour seats which helped the party to secure its 2019 General Election victory. 

Time is of course at the heart of our problems with delivery of fresh food and medicines, many of which require cool chain delivery and which rely on Just In Time manufacturing in order to reach us in good condition. In some cases we have yet to see the impacts of Brexit in these areas but the signs are not good.

Meanwhile, Boris Johnson continues to gaslight us into accepting sub-optimal doses of the COVID vaccine. He is going against best advice from the manufacturers and the WHO although they understand our sense of desperation, given the toxic effects of Corona + Brexit. This decision is not risk free and we shall find out the effects by experimentation.

Just 20 days in and Brexit carnage has begun, from the top to the bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, as we enter the Winter of Discontent.

Will we see the dark side of the loon soon?

Mike Cashman sums up for us:

ACCEPT WHAT HAS HAPPENED AND MOVE ON?

How often have you heard this?

Well, this article compiled by Peter Cook summarises some of what has happened in the first 3 weeks of real Brexit. We all need to recognise these real problems that have arisen from the fact of Brexit and from the reckless rushed and incompetent negotiation. No one should refer any more to Project Fear – this is Reality and businesses are facing disaster.

Do we accept that this has happened? Government Ministers consistently refuse to answer questions about reasons for our dreadful situation, whether that is Brexit or Covid. As expected, they have started to blame Covid for Brexit problems.

Will Boris Johnson now move on? Will his Government act honourably, do what the Dutch Government have done and resign en masse with him? Ask your MP.

We finish as we began, with a performance of Pink Floyd’s “Another Prick in the Mall”, on a train after The People’s March:

With thanks to Sy Donne, Irina Fridman, Helga Perry, Adrian Ekins-Daukes, Mike Cashman, Jo Wace, Martin Housden, Lisa Lanfranchi, Carol Fraser, Roger Cracknell, Patricia Manning, Daphne Franks, Peter Daws, June Austin, Greg Newman for helping compile this article.

Sunday Roasting

Sunday Roasting

It’s Sunday. Normally a time for a visit to church and some light chatter in England’s green and pleasant land. No talk of sex, death and politics. But this is Brexit Britain, so I’ll break that rule with a Sunday Roasting of our Government.

Join us on Monday to Re-Boot Britain via ZOOM

Fcuk off to Europe

This is the official message being given out by Government agencies to businesses who want to trade with Europe. Businesses are being told to open offices in Europe if they want to continue in business. Remember when Johnson said “Fuck Business”? It was one of his rare moments of telling the truth.

Oh wait a minute, did we not get a Brexit deal for frictionless trade?

How are small businesses going to maintain two headquarters just to avoid non-tariff barriers and other delays?

Who is paying for this?

Thom Yorke of Radiohead sums up the Brexit carnage nicely:

Write to your MP and ask for Brexit to be cancelled.

Take the Doctor’s advice

Boris Johnson is NOT taking the doctor’s advice by extending the time between COVID vaccinations. I have the burden of having worked on life saving medicines. We don’t recommend treatment regimes just for a laugh. The impact of Johnson’s careless approach is that vulnerable people who have had one dose of the COVID vaccine are becoming infected. Here is a story from one of my friends who prefers to remain anon, as her mum’s story is too painful to face in public. Her mum went for her first COVID injection in December but then had to attend hospital for a minor issue, returning with COVID:

“The following is what everyone who thinks the vaccine means life can return to normal needs to understand: My mum was admitted to hospital two weeks ago with a severe respiratory infection and related heart and blood sugar problems as she is also diabetic. She has now contracted COVID in hospital, but she doesn’t seem to have any additional symptoms as a result. So it would seem that having had the vaccination has protected her against developing COVID symptoms, but not against catching it, or being able to transmit it. Most importantly, because she is now COVID positive she has had to be transferred from the elderly acute ward to a COVID ward, even though she doesn’t actually have COVID symptoms. She is now surrounded by severely ill people who are gasping for breath and she is being cared for by medical staff in full PPE, so she can’t see their faces. She is utterly traumatised and nobody can visit her, which is also traumatising her husband. I can cope with losing my mother to old age and ill health, it’s the normal cycle of life. But this is no way to go. The vaccination has protected her against developing COVID symptoms, but not against this awful situation”.

Others ignore the idea that once you have had COVID, you will be invincible. Think again. A good friend of mine has COVID for the second time. It is a new infection and not a repeat event. Her illness is just as bad if not worse than the first time some 9 months ago. To those that think that immunisation will make them invincible, think again.

Coming soon – a new 3 track album to reach heads and hearts

In the ultimate mark of shame, Grant Shapps is insisting that DVLA workers in Swansea who are infected with COVID keep going to work. I once worked for a few weeks at DVLA. I opted out from the lucrative contract, as I could not face the ‘behavioural waste’ that went on, due to incompetent management. I have never really believed in what is called ‘sick buildings’, but now Grant Shapps appears to be making DVLA into a ‘death camp’.

500+ cases in one govt building

Workers with symptoms ordered to come into work

Dept refused vulnerable peoples’ requests to isolate

Told to disable test and trace notifications

The Minister for Death – Grant Shapps

The death of Britain

Brexit continues to surprise with shipping costs rising more than SIX times in some cases. Firms have the choice to either fold their businesses, pay 600% more in transport costs or relocate to Europe.

NONE of these are the sunny uplands promised by Gove, Johnson et al.

ALL of them are entirely of our OWN government’s making.

Brexit Carnage
Please support our work to Re-Boot Britain – Remove the Conservatives, Renew democracy and Reform our politics

Elected

In more positive news, my application to stand for a position on the board of Grassroots for Europe has been accepted. Wish me luck. Join us at our regular meeting to Re-Boot Britain on Monday at 7 pm.

Sunday Roasting
Image by Cold War Steve www.coldwarsteve.com
Sunday Roasting
“Cheat is Murder” – Boris Johnson
Sunday Sun – Page 3

Dying for Boris

Dying for Boris

Friday 26 February marks the date for the release of a three track mini album entitled “Dying for Boris”. We aim to chart the song for the following week, to reach populist media with the story about the toxic combination of Corona + Brexit, Russian interference and a host of other issues. To do this, we and need multiple downloads of all three song versions of Dying for Boris, in the same way that we succeeded in getting “Comin over ere” and “Boris Johnson’s a fu…king c..nt” to number one at Christmas. Please download all three versions of the song on all platforms. All downloads count towards chart success. Here are all the options to buy the song:

All formats available via the link https://orcd.co/xdw6erx – click the image to go direct

Vladimir Putin is delighted, having gotten his way with Brexit. With Britain now a third country, he can advance his plans take back control of Eastern Europe with his pal Nigel Farage. A fanciful idea or a warning from history? Dying for Boris is based upon the Russian anthem Варшавянка, originally titled “March Song of the Workers”, but known more widely as “Whirlwinds of Danger”. Boris is the whirlwind, having committed more than 30 000 people to unnecessary death with his “too little, too late” COVID strategy.

Having nearly cracked the UK charts with our football / WWII pastiche “Alo Vera – Brexit’s Comin’ ‘Ome”, Rage Against The Brexit Machine (RATBM) now takes aim on the Russian oligarchs, Johnson, Cummings, Sunak and Gove, lining up for a Top 40 hit from Friday February 26th.

“брексит even sounds Russian doesn’t it?”

Peter Cook, Brexorcist in Chief, RATBM

“Dying for Boris” is the follow up to “The Brexit Party Album” – the party album to end all tomorrow’s parties. Just like the BOJONA-21 virus the song has three ‘variants’, all of which count towards chart success:

1. The Kremlin “Putinescu” mix

2. The Deep Purple “Mistreated” 30 000 unnecessary deaths mix

3. The “Populism will eat itself” mix

“Don’t die for Boris.  Ask him to dye his hair and cancel Brexit"
“Don’t die for Boris. Ask him to dye his hair and cancel Brexit”
“Ra, Ra BrexPutin”

Things to do

GIFT the song to MPs on iTunes

GIFT the song to your Vote Leave friends

Order multiple copies on all platforms

Ask friends to share and share again

Just say no to “Britastrophe”
Just say no to the slow motion “Britastrophe” of Corona Crisis + Brexit disaster

Here is a sample of the song on You Tube. Please note that watching the video does NOT count towards chart success. Downloads and Streams are needed – 150 streams per download.

For an exclusive interview on “Dying for Boris”, contact Peter Cook peter@academy-of-rock.co.uk

Dying for Boris
Dying for Boris Press Release
Mis sold PPE

Were you mis-sold PPE?

By Adrian Ekins- Daukes

Health Secretary Hancock  protests indignantly about the High Court judgement against him in three cases where PPE contracts were granted during the pandemic without competition and announcement delayed until long after the time period required under the  regulations.  His excuse based on urgency created by the pandemic seems  plausible enough . However he might do better to tread more carefully in what may well prove to be a minefield, in the interests of his own future credibility.
The purpose behind the regulations is transparency, in particular to ensure there is no suspicion of bias in the awarding of  public contracts. This suspicion is aroused in at least one of the three cases concerned where a contract worth £252m was awarded to a tiny company  founded by an associate of a Minister. 

Your last gasp?

There are other such cases before the courts, including one where the beneficiary company was owned by friends of Michael Grove and Dominic Cummings, who was responsible for awarding the contract.  If, as seems possible, findings against the government in this and other cases reveal the awarding of contracts at excessive prices, to firms unfitted to fulfil their commitments and  resulting in huge waste of public money , the full extent of ‘chumocracy’, verging on corruption, within the Cabinet Office during the first wave of the pandemic will come to light. 

In fact, there are grounds for suspicion that the Cabinet office, far from being desperately overworked in trying to find suppliers of PPE and other essential equipment at that time, may actually  have obstructed some offers of supply. Could it be that they were seeking to avoid granting contracts to suppliers outside  their own circle, preferring to wait until a favoured producer turned up? If that were so, the Cabinet Office is guilty of actually impeding the NHS  in its war against the pandemic. 

Write to your MP using this as a basis for your letter

Every Breath You Take

If you like this article, please tip us using the Paypal button on this site or via GoFundMe

We need support to continue doing this. It takes considerable time. Thank you in advance.

Say no to the new variant Brexit – Write to your MP and the press using the facts in this article to make your case

Read our guide to Brexorcism

Join us every Monday at 8 pm to Re-Boot Britain

Fish Fucker

60 days of Brexit

60 days of Brexit and the massive success stories of Brexit keep coming in. Here’s a roundup of recent news and fake news by The Express, Mail and Sun.

Brexit realities

Millions face economic shock from COVID. Brexit simply multiples the problem into the long term. See New Economics.

Meanwhile, Kent Police are involved in Operation Mask Brexit, drawing in thousands of Police officers from 33 forces to cover up the effects of Brexit on borders, ports and roads.

Steve Cock, who runs a customs consultancy, regularly sees lorry drivers forced to stay in his firm’s car park at Ashford for several nights because they do not have the right paperwork to get into Europe. Such confusion is echoed by the Road Haulage Association (RHA), which says that 50-60 per cent of freight vehicles are leaving the UK empty. A haulage source was blunt: “We have become the world leader in exporting fresh air.”

There’s still time to make your mark on Boris Johnson’s awful Junta. Please follow the links below and help us chart Dying for Boris this week.

Download copies of Dying for Boris and share with friends

Daphne Franks writes in The Craven Herald about the realities of clapping for carers versus the hard realities of paying key workers properly. If you care about carers vote the Tories out on May 6th in the local elections.

“We need our nurses. They care for us. We need to care for them”.

A stitch in time saves nine

Join us to find out how you can move the dial on local elections every Tuesday at 7 pm via ZOOM

Masking Brexit 1984 style

The media are now running ads to tell people how well Brexit is going. The ads are not paid for by Russian oligarchs or our enemies, but by OUR Government !!

Don’t die for Boris – download the song and take back control of our media – click on the image to find all options to bugger Brexit

You know we have reached rock bottom when businesses ask Michael Gove for help with Brexit. The Gove – Johnson marriage of convenience is clearly under strain now that Johnson has put unelected mediocre bureaucrat “Sir” David Frost into the cabinet to fight Gove.

Distraction and gaslighting

Andrew Bridgen wants us to drink “Peckham Spring Water” and not that “smelly Euro water”. Satire made real in his letter to the House of Commons to distract us from Brexit realities.

Peckham Spring
Peckham Spring
Get your copy of our book on Brexorcism – click on the extract

New research confirms that British fish are no longer happy to be British. Billy the Bragging Bass spoke at St James’ Plaice on behalf of all whiting and cod:

“I wanna swim wiv me mates – that Jacob Rees-Mogg is a fucking twat” – Billy

Meanwhile Boris Johnson is once again exposed as a liar. A whole book of it. Do we really want our politicians to lie to us?

Write to your councillor and MP. Ask them for honest politics

Join us to Re-Boot Britain – click on the image

With thanks to Irina Fridman, Mike Cashman, Peter Daws, Helga Perry, Lisa Lanfranchi, Daphne Franks, Adrian Ekins-Daukes, Heike Wilms, Louise Hunter, Martin Housden, Carol Fraser, Paul Bowers and Susanna Leislle.

Reflections

Reflections

One year ago, COVID was put in the microwave oven by Boris Johnson. Let’s undertake some reflections on a year of unprecedented and unnecessary death, dither and delay.

“Dirty migrants bring disease” – Johnson

Boris Johnson reports that the third wave of COVID will “arrive on our shores” like unwanted migrants, in an attempt to sidestep responsibility for Stanley Johnson, who continues to exercise freedom of movement to service his Greek villa. Whilst the rest of us face a £5000 fine for going on holiday. Our Government now resembles the cast of “Dallas” in terms of policy making based on the needs of the Johnson family circle.

Priti Patel defends the breaking of international law on BBC Radio 4 – Click to read the latest on asylum policy
Please Retweet and Reply widely

Frozen Brexit

We are also reminded that Johnson was more interested in hiding in fridges and minting Brexit 50 pence coins than listening to experts. When other world leaders were listening to scientists, Johnson was listening to Winston Churchill speeches at Chequers. The impact in Britain has been “world beating” deaths approaching 130 000 and probably nearly as many unnecessary additional deaths. We continue to have no plan for the future, except distraction via flag shagging, purchase of tanks and nukes and the ceremonial decoration of No 10 Downing Street for propaganda purposes.

A stitch up out of time saves no-one

Denial is not a river in Egypt

Mike Cashman has articulated the stages of Brexit awareness. Many are still at “stage zero”, believing that Brexit is either a boost to Britain or of no consequence, as the impacts have been masked by COVID:

Brexit has been harmful
Brexit has no significant benefits
Brexit was a mistake
The Brexit mistake was predictable
The Brexit consequences are the inevitable result of the “Deal”
The Brexit leaders misled us
The Tories are still misleading us
The Tories have been damaging the UK
The Tories are not fit to govern

The provision of inconvenient facts demonstrate that Brexit is a much bigger long term destructive force for Britain. Much bigger and deeper than COVID, but more “slow motion”.

Brexit benefits
Click to read the full article

Check out Edwin Hayward’s running log of Brexit impacts via Google. What will happen on April Brexit Fools’ Day?

At a basic level, read this story of someone who bought a racing bike from Poland, having been told by Gov.uk that there would be no tariffs who now finds himself having to pay £2000 more to receive the bike and £1000 to return it.

In the Falklands, their economy is being wiped out by tariffs applied to seafood and lamb. Reports also indicate that there are signs that this makes the security of the Falklands (and Gibraltar etc.) less certain.

Women, know your place

Meanwhile the country is gaslit by talk of riots amidst the peaceful protests by women in Bristol. Mysteriously, the Police withdraw their statement of injuries. This report presents an interesting view on the protest. It is enough of an outrage that the police should be involved in the murder case but beyond belief that they may have been involved in gaslighting activities to distract people from the murder.

Image by Cold War

Back to the “Good Old Days”

Northern Ireland are beginning to understand the impact of Brexit on the resurgence of what was euphemistically describe as “the troubles”. We warned Johnson and his Government of this but clearly he may as well have said “Fuck Northern Ireland” as well as “Fuck Business”.

Please Retweet and Reply widely
Join us every Monday at 8 pm for our regular event and 7 pm for induction

Distraction politics

Meanwhile the real wars are in the race to have the best presidential style briefing platform, as Johnson spends an eye watering £2.6 million on home improvements for 10 Downing Street. All furniture is to be sourced from Ikea as this tweet shows.

Please Retweet and Reply widely

The other popular bloodsport in Brexit politics is to blame others for your own failures. Let’s remember that Britain has not exported a SINGLE VIAL of vaccine to other countries when we start pointing fingers at others. Even the Telegraph accept that Sir David Frost is not up to the job.

Please Retweet and Reply widely

If you like this article, please tip us using the Paypal button on this site or via GoFundMe

We need support to continue doing this. It takes considerable time. Thank you in advance.

Say no to the new variant Brexit – Write to your MP and the press using the facts in this article to make your case

Read our guide to Brexorcism

Join us every Monday at 8 pm to Re-Boot Britain

Reflections

Corona crisis + Brexit disaster = Britastrophe

Every Breath You Take
Click image to support our work

One year ago

By Adrian Ekins-Daukes

One year ago we were at the height of the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.  Even before, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine was warning  that acute care was struggling,  emergency departments were under-resourced and overcrowded, and often outdated in terms of facilities and equipment. However, this article is intended to give a snapshot of conditions 12 months ago, not a full history of preceding events. 

On 21 March 2020, 10 Downing Street put out the following statement on the situation : 

“Our response has ensured that the NHS has been given all the support it needs to ensure everyone requiring treatment has received it, as well as providing protection to businesses and reassurance to workers. The PM has been at the helm of the response to this, providing leadership during this hugely challenging period for the whole nation.”

This complacent and self-congratulatory declaration was issued on a day when the television news featured distressed NHS workers in fear for their lives because protective equipment was either unfit for purpose or lacking altogether. It is false in every respect.  

Far from being at the helm, PM Johnson spent much of February  at his country retreat, Chequers, with Carrie Symonds, then his new fiancee. His occasional visits to London seemed more  about social appearances and Conservative fundraising than the nation’s affairs. During January/February he  missed five consecutive meetings of the emergency “Cobra“ Committee during  when the pandemic had been on the agenda, Only on March 2 did he take over the chair, when the virus was firmly established. Then, for a further 3 weeks, he toyed with an impractical policy of herd immunity instead of immediate lockdown. This dithering cost over 20,000 lives and has probably cost more since that time.

Too little too late
Too little, too late – 2020 revisited

Regarding support for the NHS, a leaked email disclosed on 18 March 2020 that some hospitals were just 24 hours away from running out of protective equipment (PPE) for nurses and doctors. Shortages included visors, masks and gowns. and some other items had run out entirely. In another email, to directors of infection control, NHS England said that there were no visors left nationally, no long sleeve disposable gowns, only goggles suited for flu.

This situation was confirmed by television and newspaper interviews with hospital staff over this period.  One hospital manager who confirmed his hospital did not have enough PPE equipment to last the next 24 hours said that they’d been told  specialist respirator masks would soon run out nationally and only less suitable masks without visors were available. Eye protection and long sleeve aprons had run out and they were buying safety goggles from industrial wholesalers. The previous night he’d had to ration equipment across four wards – normally one ward would have held 10 times that amount. Asked what they made of the claims there was enough stock in the country, he added:

“We’ve been told for weeks that there’s stock, there isn’t”.

Towards the end of March,  one regional NHS  director of procurement said he was unable to get hold of any gowns from the NHS supply chain, exclaiming in desperation  “God help us all.”  The GMB union said the lack of PPE and testing for frontline workers was “a national crisis”.  Ambulance workers were  not being given access to PPE, even when being sent to treat patients suspected of having Covid-19. 

The consequences for patients of the delays and lack of essential equipment was horrendous, especially for the elderly.  Some hospitals were overwhelmed and a system, drawn up by the Governments chief advisors, was introduced to select which Covid patients should receive intensive treatment. This was a death sentence to anyone over 80 or with a serious underlying medical condition; in practice it was also applied to many over 60. These patients were consigned to death wards where they received little or no nursing treatment or even attention . Steps were taken to conceal this from the public, but some witnessed the conditions in which their dearest were to die.

The government failed completely to give the NHS and patients the support  needed at the height of the crisis. Its ‘reassurance’ to NHS workers was non-existent.*

WARNING. This lie is being repeated up to the present day as the Government attempts to rewrite history.

Re-Boot Britain
Join us on Monday at 8 pm to Re-Boot Britain

If you like this article, please tip us using the Paypal button on this site or via GoFundMe

We need support to continue doing this. It takes considerable time. Thank you in advance.

Say no to the new variant Brexit – Write to your MP and the press using the facts in this article to make your case

Read our guide to Brexorcism

Join us every Monday at 8 pm to Re-Boot Britain

Brexit Fools' Day

Brexit Fools’ Day

“Ever get the feeling you’ve been conned?” Johnny Rotten

On Brexit Fools’ Day we look at some of the things we’ve been fooled by:

World Beating COVID deaths

The “British vaccine”, developed by foreigners

£350 million per week for the NHS … we’re still waiting

Taking back control of our borders means a border in Kent

Taking back control of our fish means the destruction of our fishing industry

Shoplifters of the world unite – Art by Cold War Steve

The Turing scheme to replace Erasmus

There would be no border in the Irish sea

The main beneficiaries from Brexit turn out to be portaloo providers

Trade will be frictionless

Unprecedented red tape and companies going to the wall due to Brexit

A free trade deal that has non tariff barriers and many other faults

Unsettled status

VAT on imports from Europe

£37 billion spent on a failed Test and Trace system

Falkland Islands thrown under a Brexit bus

Gibraltar to gain independence

UK break up began

Police racists found not to be racists by racist Government

“20 000 COVID deaths would be a good outcome”

£5000 fines for leaving the country, unless you are Stanley Johnson

£2.4 million spent on some decor in 10 Downing Street

Statues are more important than women

What would you add to the list? Drop me a line

“Won’t get fooled again” – Roger Daltrey

Actually Roger, you will get fooled again if you vote Tory

Swing out sister
SuspEND Brexit
We need £1000 for printing leaflets to defeat the Tories in May elections – pl click on the image to support us

Help defeat the Tories on May 6th

Get the Tories out

We have delivered 20 000 leaflets to help get the Tories out and Re-Boot Britain in the last 10 days. This is quite astonishing when one considers that it has been done with just 12 people and a Mini Cooper. There are 23 million houses in Britain and our 20 000 leaflets represent 1/1000 of those houses. Not bad at all for a micro organisation. To help support our work, please donate using the PayPal button or via Go Fund Me for a regular donation.

To join us on the tour, here are our dates this coming week:

  • Monday : Gravesend from 11.00 am
  • Tuesday and Wednesday : Tunbridge Wells from 10.30 am
  • Wednesday evening : Maidstone from 6 pm
  • Thursday : TBC
  • Evening slots available most days by appointment

Please contact me directly via gtto@academy-of-rock.co.uk to join us

Here is our report from the street from stalwart campaigner Don Adamson

If you like this article, please tip us using the Paypal button on this site or via GoFundMe

We need support to continue doing this. It takes considerable time. Thank you in advance.

Say no to the new variant Brexit – Write to your MP and the press using the facts in this article to make your case

Read our guide to Brexorcism

Join us every Monday at 8 pm to Re-Boot Britain