It is so infuriating. My grandfather died in late March 2020 - it was recorded as a ‘viral pneumonia’ and we don’t actually know if he COVID or not. It was right when there were very real discussions in the media about who should not be treated if the NHS was to be overwhelmed, and whether over 60s should be treated and so on. The whole thing was a mess, he was taken to hospital but wasn’t tested because there weren’t enough tests, he was put on a temporary ward with confirmed cases and then he was moved to a stroke ward when he deteriorated and died shortly after. There wasn’t a funeral - luckily my mum knew the local vicar and she offered to do a short service at the graveside, but the guidance at the time was so unclear that nobody knew if the vicar and pallbearers counted as part of the number who could attend, so in the end it was just my mum, her partner and my uncle. The whole thing caused my mum a huge amount of distress - I live some distance away so couldn’t travel, so I was trying to do my best to support her whilst working utterly stupid hours in my civil service job.
I am beyond furious with Boris and all of his cronies. Certainly in my bit of the civil service, we are constantly reminded of the Nolan Principles and to consider how our actions might be perceived by the general public, irrespective of whether what we are doing is ‘allowed’. Everyone involved in this knew what they were doing was wrong, they knew how it would be perceived and they carried on anyway. What’s worse is that so many people have sat on this for years and covered it up. There were email invitations sent out, videos taken and god knows what else yet they’re being dribbled out at strategic moments rather than honestly shared. People get so angry with civil servants and I am genuinely distressed at how this reflects on me - honestly, most of us are trying to do our best in our jobs in spite of the Government, and not because of them.
