Grieving families who lost loved ones during the pandemic wrote to the Prime Minister tonight to remind him of their sacrifice while he attended parties.
Hannah Brady, of Wigan, Greater Manchester, lost her dad Shaun to Covid.
The factory worker and father-of-two died in May 2020, at the height of the first lockdown, after spending 42 nights in a coma.
She was among bereaved relatives to tell Boris Johnson : “We couldn’t comfort each other at our loved ones’ funerals.
“We couldn’t hold our loved ones’ hands whilst they passed away. We couldn’t visit our loved ones’ when they needed us the most.
“Every single day this is something we have to live with, all because we obeyed the rules that were there to stop others from experiencing our pain. You on the other hand did not.
“You broke those laws intended to keep us safe. You trampled on the sacrifices we and all the British public made. You paid a fine. Our loved ones paid with their lives.”
Another relative said those who say now is not the right time for a change of leadership “couldn’t be more wrong”.
Rivka Gottlieb, 50, of North London, who lost her father Michael to Covid aged 73 in April 2020, said she feels “absolutely livid” and “disgusted” at the lack of honesty from those in charge of the country.
Mr Johnson “lost his moral authority a long time ago” and his position is “untenable”, she said.
Ms Gottlieb, who is a member of the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, said: “I feel like I’m watching a car crash in slow motion over and over again, and I’ve been saying this for months: the ineptitude and lack of integrity at the top has led us into this place.
“This is the leadership that got us into this mess. The situation in Ukraine is irrelevant to what’s happening internally. What we need is better leadership.”
Ms Gottlieb said she is worried the public would not listen to Mr Johnson if he needs to introduce further coronavirus restrictions.
She said: “It is absolutely essential that the people in charge follow the rules, that they set the rules and they lead by example.”
