Yes, Dominic Cummings was in almost every way the ultimate colleague from hell. Yes, Boris Johnson was in a different way the sum of all nightmares as a national leader. Yes, the macho culture of the Downing Street in which they strutted their stuff was a disgrace. And, yes, many people died of Covid-19 in every part of the United Kingdom who should not have done so, partly because of their responses to the Covid pandemic.
In its hour of need, our country was lamentably governed by Johnson and Cummings. That’s indisputable. But, shameful as it is, this is not really the most important lesson emerging from Heather Hallett’s official inquiry into the pandemic. Focusing too much on the individuals who were faced with making pandemic policy decisions, understandable though that is and reprehensible though many of them proved, risks missing the larger picture that will matter more for the future.
