1/4 The UK govt Covid response is increasingly looking like a calamity.
Since 2010 the UK’s National Security Risk Assessment has recognised a major public health disaster, in particular pandemic influenza, as a Tier One threat to national security.

2/4 2016 cross govt exercise identified regular stocks of PPE + ventilators not enough in event of

3/4 Intelligence was warning China lying about numbers in Jan, but govt effectively ceded a month of preparedness. Around this time Germany acts to secure stocks of key testing chemicals.

4/4 Then Italy: UK had 2-3 weeks head start to avoid similar trajectory. Instead of mobilising armed forces to contact trace we stop. Look where we are now. Entirely predictable mess, with much of UK media in ‘crisis support’ rather than ‘watchdog’ mode.