Thread on Gov’s chicanery to bamboozle the public on holidays h/t
@alexwickham ![Fettes Malzeichen x ✖️](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/2716.png)
Jan 17: Raab people should not be booking holidays yet: “I think ATM it’s too early. Until we’re in a position to give the reassurance, I think it’s v difficult to plan.”
https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/too-early-brits-book-summer-holidays-dominic-raab/
![Fettes Häkchen ✔️](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/2714.png)
Jan 18: Matt Hancock completely contradicted Raab: “I’m going to Cornwall. And I have said before I think we’re going to have a great British summer.” His remarks led to hotels and holiday companies urging people to book for the summer ASAP …
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/video/2021/jan/18/great-british-summer-matt-hancock-cautions-against-booking-holidays-abroad-video
![Fettes Malzeichen x ✖️](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/2716.png)
Jan 31: The same day, Liz Truss shot Hancock down, insists quarantine measures and restrictions on travel would be in place for foreseeable future, and that “it would be very dangerous for govt minister to make promises about people’s summer holidays.”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/13903872/summer-holiday-hopes-travel-ban-future-covid/
![Fettes Häkchen ✔️](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/2714.png)
Feb 1: On a visit to Yorkshire, Boris Johnson was asked whether the U.K. could have a “happy and free summer,” and said “I am optimistic” about the prospect of summer holidays, with the caveat that the vaccination program had to go well.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/politics/13911372/boris-johnson-optimistic-summer-holidays-vaccine/
![Fettes Malzeichen x ✖️](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/2716.png)
February 10, 8 a.m.: Transport Secretary Grant Shapps contradicted Hancock on the BBC’s Today program, warning: “People shouldn’t be booking holidays right now, not domestically or internationally.”
![Denkendes Gesicht 🤔](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/1f914.png)
February 10, midday: Asked about the conflicting advice at the daily Lobby briefing, the prime minister’s official spokesperson produced another line, saying the decision on whether to book a holiday was “a choice for individuals.”
![Fettes Malzeichen x ✖️](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/2716.png)
Feb 10, 5pm: PM stressed it was illegal to go on holiday either at home or abroad and seemed to strike a more cautious tone: “I am afraid it is just too early for people to be certain about what we’ll be able to do this summer.” Laura Kuenssberg caught reacting on
https://twitter.com/johnestevens/status/1359552890629738496
![Fettes Häkchen ✔️](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/2714.png)
Feb 10, 5 p.m.: At the exact same time as the PM’s presser, Hancock inexplicably once again told Tory MPs on a Zoom call that he’d booked a trip to Cornwall, and shared jokes with Devon MPs who wanted him to holiday in their constituencies
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/coronavirus-holiday-matt-hancock-lockdown_uk_60241fdec5b6f38d06e8f51d
![Clownsgesicht 🤡](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/1f921.png)
Mail calls it a “farce” and says ministers are bickering.
Charles Walker: “We had summer holidays last year when we didn’t have a vaccine. Now we’ve got vaccines coming out of our ears, we are told, ‘Don’t book a summer holiday’ for crying out loud.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56008363
Pro Lockdown Sage prof John Edmunds warned
@itvpeston that if all schools are reopened on March 8 then
![Flagge des Vereinigten Königreiches 🇬🇧](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/1f1ec-1f1e7.png)
would be “very lucky to keep R below 1.”
He also warned that the new Bristol variant could reinfect people who have already been infected or vaccinated.
https://twitter.com/itvpeston/status/1359630498264477704