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Portsmouth MP responds to news Britain has highest Covid-19 deaths in Europe

News broke yesterday that the UK has the highest Covid-19 death toll in Europe prompting further scrutiny about the government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, whilst tragically social care deaths continue to rise and testing remains below the Government’s target and way behind other countries.

With this in mind, city MP Stephen Morgan has today called on government to adhere to seven core principles set out by the Leader of the Opposition to ensure public safety.

Stephen Morgan MP said:

“I have made it clear I want to work constructively with government when it comes to handling the coronavirus crisis, but the latest information about extent tragic deaths shows serious mistakes were made at the onset of this pandemic.

The government was slow to implement the lockdown, slow on testing and slow to get PPE to frontline workers. We need to learn from those failings. It is vital that government is properly planning for what happens next and putting measures in place to support our NHS and social care services.

That is why I am joining others in calling on the Prime Minister to adhere to seven core principles that work to ensure public services, businesses and people are supported and kept safe.”

There have now been over 30,000 deaths recorded across the UK, making the country the worst affected in Europe. Even more worryingly, the University of Cambridge has said reported figures are “substantial underestimates” of the true number who have died with the virus.

Already, thousands of people have signed a petition calling for an inquiry including Dr Claudia Paoloni, president of the Hospital Consultants and Specialists. While the British Medical Association council chair, said the figures were extremely concerning “given that the UK was originally affected by the outbreak later than many other nations”.

The Portsmouth South MP added:

“The way government handles the exit strategy will shape Britain’s road to recovery. People’s lives will depend on it. It needs to be a carefully measured plan that considers mistakes made and lessons learnt.

Over the coming days and weeks, Labour will work constructively with the government on the 7-point proposals to ensure the country has the best possible response to this crisis.

I want to support the Government to get this right and that is why we need a national consensus on what happens next”.

Leader of the Opposition, Sir Keir Starmer MP added:

“Our priority is protecting the public’s health and saving lives. That is why we supported the lockdown and again support the restrictions staying in place at this time. However, we need to be honest with the public about the challenges ahead.

We are in this for the long haul. It is imperative that the Government is properly planning for what happens next and properly supporting our NHS and social care services”.

For more detail about the seven principles click here