My wife died on 31 January 2021 from metastatic breast cancer a few weeks after Shaun Bailey and his friends had their party at Conservative HQ. As can be seen from the video, there was no social distancing, indeed open contempt for it. The experience of my family and myself was totally different. After a very difficult Christmas, spent largely in the garden, my wife fell out of bed on 5 January and was admitted to hospital. We were not allowed to see her again because of Covid rules until a fortnight later, when we were allowed one hour. She could barely speak. No further visits were allowed until we were told she was dying – and then we were given unlimited access. The problem was she could not talk, smile or communicate in any way.
Her funeral took place in early March, the delay caused by the high demand on crematoria. There were fewer than 10 people present and we could not even offer them a cup of tea, let alone have a party.
I do hope this country does not just blame Boris Johnson and his inability to tell the truth – but also the hundreds of Tory MPs who have supported a corrupt regime.
Roger McGarva
West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire
• I shed tears over Sarah Hollingdale’s letter (My father died while the Tories were having lockdown parties, 25 June). With a few changes, this could have been written by any of my three children about the months leading up to their father’s death, in May 2021. Like Sarah’s father, their father was a popular person who gave much back to the community, in his field of expertise, education.
