Open mouth, insert foot.

Matt Hancock thought it would be a good idea to say that “only” 36 people died of Covid-19 in the UK on Sunday (June 14).

What an insensitive buffoon. Or…

Or maybe…

https://twitter.com/dinogoldie/status/1272314169858162688

Some, taking the numbers at face value, have made the point that Hancock should never have used the word “only”:

Experience shows that it isn’t an accurate description of the number of deaths that take place over a weekend – because there is a lag in reporting deaths that occur on a weekend. Look at the graphs of UK deaths since lockdown started and you will see a sizable drop in recorded deaths each weekend.

And there’s the fact – recorded by the Office for National Statistics – that the death rate in the most deprived parts of the UK is double that in the least deprived areas:

It has also been established that people from black and minority ethnic groups are four times more likely to die of Covid-19 than white people.

So, on the basis of 36 deaths, around 28 of those who died would have been BAME people and 24 would have been from deprived areas. Most of the 24 would have belonged to both groups.

That’s “only” the fact behind Mr Hancock’s celebratory words.

Only two days before, Hancock had tried to kid us all that the Tory plan to handle Covid-19 was “working”. He was cut down to size very quickly:

Underpinning this is the threat that the general public may become desensitised to the facts – and the Tory rhetoric spouted by Hancock is contributing to that:

https://twitter.com/liamyoung/status/1271735091144921089

Perhaps it would be better to keep this in mind:

The message is clear: Matt Hancock is trying to pretend that your deaths, and those of your loved ones, don’t matter. That’s a cause for anger – not celebration.

Have YOU donated to my crowdfunding appeal, raising funds to fight false libel claims by TV celebrities who should know better? These court cases cost a lot of money so every penny will help ensure that wealth doesn’t beat justice.

https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/mike-sivier-libel-fight/

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