Watch: Covid Inquiry - George Osborne's evidence on how austerity affected pandemic response

George Osborne has suggested that Western countries simply copied China in enforcing lockdown, and questioned if the same decision would have been made had the UK government had carried out its own tabletop exercise.
The former chancellor questioned if we would “all have gone into lockdown if China had not locked down in January and February”.
“I think the Chinese lockdown is what gives the rest of the world the idea,” he told the inquiry in his evidence.
“And it’s the overwhelming of the hospital system in northern Italy. That then leads all Western governments to reach basically the same conclusion which is we’ve got to do what the Chinese have done in order to try and preserve our capacity and our emergency wards.”
He says he wondered if they had done a table top exercise whether they’d have come to the conclusion the population could be put under lockdown.
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#covidinquiry # GeorgeOsborne #nhs

[@allisonfverblow9879]

George Osborne’s own little world where he saved us all

[@timcomley5948]

Grow up

[@Mark1526374859]

George Osbourne. The man with a £5m chalet in Verbier, France, tells the English how it isn’t the Tories fault.

[@timcomley5948]

What has that got to do with anything, grow up

[@effa2985]

Great testimony by Osborne. Gravitas and authority

[@chrisgibson7591]

George Osborne was the reason austerity went on for years

[@martinobrien7110]

He looks like he is full of vindictiveness towards friend or. foe .

[@phildurling7185]

The "external red teams" that Sir Oliver Letwin talks about in his evidence. Would it be helpful if these teams came from the Housee of Lord's, who have a Constitutional duty to question government and the House of Commons.