The Guardian July 10 report suggesting Boris Johnson is planning a “radical shake-up of NHS in a bid to regain more direct control” has understandably triggered alarm in many campaigners, but also confusion on a number of levels.
A subsequent HSJ report largely contradicts the Guardian account, suggesting that the proposal for legislation originates not from Downing Street but from Health Secretary Matt Hancock – and that Downing Street has halted moves to push through legislation this summer and pushed it back to 2021, fearing the imminent possibility of a second peak of Covid-19 infection and a grim winter ahead.
The alarm at the Guardian version of events centres on the likely consequences of an intervention by a government that is clearly led by Dominic Cummings, Johnson’s principal advisor, especially when the task force that the Guardian reports has been established to draw up proposals for legislation includes Cummings’ and Johnson’s controversial health adviser William Warr.
Full story in The Lowdown, 21 July 2020