Good Morning. Michael Gove, Leveling Up Secretary, was making a rare appearance in the interview round this morning. he was mostly talking about the announcement £4bn support package for leaseholders hit by exorbitant cladding-removal costs, which will be the subject of a commons statement later. But he was also asked about Covid, and in an interview on the Today program he effectively admitted that he was wrong, and Boris Johnson was right, when cabinet decided on the need for tighter restrictions for England in the week before Christmas. took into account. When told that he supported tighter sanctions, but developments since then suggest they are not, he replied:
From what I said and wrote, people would know that, in the spectrum of opinion, I was on the more cautious end. Totally valid to draw that conclusion. But the prime minister, who has so many different things to balance, publicly that we will be able to achieve that with a booster campaign. So if more is needed, we will be ready to take additional measures. We are always reviewing it. But his decision has been upheld.
Interview almost didn’t happen because Gov trapped in BBC elevator En route to the studio, prompting several jokes about his personal need for a more efficient level of strategy. This is from Jack Lamport of the BBC.
Jack Lamport
(@jacklamport)Breaking W1A – Michael Gove is finally freed from the lift behind my desk, where he’s been stuck for half an hour pic.twitter.com/Y9g7X3SA4i
I’ll be posting more from Gov’s morning interviews soon.
Here is the agenda for the day.
11.30 am: The lobby briefing takes place in Downing Street.
morning: Boris Johnson is on a trip where he is expected to record a pooled TV interview.
3:30: Alok Sharma, Cop26 President, gives evidence about the Cop26 agenda being delivered to the Lord’s Environment Committee.
After 3.30 pm: Michael Gove has made a statement to lawmakers about a £4bn package to help leaseholders cope with crippling cladding-removal costs.
I will be covering UK COVID developments here today, but for comprehensive coronavirus coverage, read our global live blog.
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