NOVEMBER 24, a full month before Christmas, the Johnson government announced there would be a considerable relaxation of Covid rules over Christmas.

In itself this is mind numbing when the virus infection rates have been soaring ever upwards since September in the UK, Europe, and worldwide.

As it is now four weeks later, NI is in lockdown, with Scotland, Wales and England all 90 per cent in some form of lockdown (rebadged Tier 3).

In short, for England and UK, our government has roundly cast us one and all into Christmas chaos.

Government knowing full well all medical scientists as one voice are telling government and all of us that opening up at Christmas will lead to an explosion of virus infections.

We were told “this is what you can do” – up to three families together over five days – and in the same breath on Dec 16 “we advise you don’t do this”.

And the very worse of this, families thrown into uncertainty and chaos.

So many torn apart not knowing what to do. Feeling they are letting others down but then deeply fearful whether or not to risk sharing homes at Christmas.

How horrendous. What appalling leadership.

Instead of the Johnson government taking a moral lead we end with an almighty fudge, and in this government throwing responsibility back the the general population.

When then in January we end with a third virus tsunami ripping though the country, we will no doubt get from Whitehall “we did advise against families meeting up”.

That government in the first place pressed the “relax and mix at Christmas” button, leading to families making plans.

Churchill said in June 1940 : “We will fight them on the beaches, we shall fight them on the landing grounds, we will never surrender”.

Zero ambiguity. All that took us through five years of war.

But not now. From Johnson, a biographer and admirer of Churchill, we get unfulfillable promises, backtracking, along with an astonishing refusal to follow hard science and make the hard decisions.

Moral weakness. Moral vacuum. A government at the mercy of events and public opinion, as led by a playboy.

JEFF WILLIAMS

Jubilee Road, Parkstone