Johnson said consulting with unions over return-to-work was ‘bollocks’

Boris Johnson said consulting with unions over back-to-work measures was “bollocks” during a discussion over removing Covid restrictions in England.

According to a diary entry from Patrick Vallance, dated 2 July 2021, the former prime minister dismissed the idea of involving workers’ voices.

“We can’t have the bollocks of consulting with employees [and] trade unions,” Vallance claimed Johnson said. “They need to all come back to work. All the malingering work-shy people.”

“He says [he] wants everyone back at work,” Vallance wrote.

At the time, trade unions were calling for an extension to the right to work flexibly. Responding to the announcement on 5 July that all Covid restrictions would be removed, the then general secretary of the TUC Frances O’Grady said: “As the work-from-home guidance ends, employers must acknowledge that one size does not fit all. They should consult their staff and unions about continuing flexibility in working patterns and location.”

The diary entry also recalls Johnson’s negative views of face masks, claiming he had said: “Are we going to encourage people to wear masks? Are we going to continue with this bollocks.”

The meeting took place weeks before England removed all Covid restrictions on 19 July, allowing an unlimited number of people to gather inside, removing the 1-metre rule and mask-wearing.

The diary entry claims Johnson was keen to lift restrictions but that newly appointed health secretary Sajid Javid was more cautious, as was the Cabinet Office minister at the time, Michael Gove.

"PM meeting – Cases [‘up’ arrow]. Hospital admissions up. PM looks downbeat + talks of grim predictions,” the diary reads.

“Saj says ‘we are going to have to learn to live with it’, 'and die with it’ says PM.”

The diary entry was revealed during Javid’s evidence-giving at the Covid inquiry on Wednesday. He defended the former PM’s words, claiming: “Sometimes it’s hard to tell between what he actually thought versus a joke. Even when you’re discussing something as important as this – something to lighten the mood.”

Inquiry chair Heather Hallett said in her view it was unclear whether Johnson was joking.

Javid’s evidence also revealed his early concerns around the virus, as well as Dominic Cummings’ control over the prime minister.

In his submission to the inquiry, the former chancellor – who resigned on the eve of Covid after having his staffing cut – said he thought Cummings was acting as prime minister in “all but name”.

He also claimed that, after a cabinet meeting in early January, he raised concerns about coronavirus and incoming flights from China with Dominic Raab and Matt Hancock. Travellers from high-risk areas, initially limited to Wuhan in China, were eventually asked from 27 January to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival in the UK.

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