Boris Johnson left older people like my dad to die – he should be prosecuted

I was a doctor in Covid ITU when the government played Russian roulette with the lives of 3 million people, writes Saleyha Ahsan. They knew their plans might kill the elderly and vulnerable – but they went ahead with it anyway. Now they need to be held to account

Lee Cain stated that Johnson had the ‘wrong skill set’ to lead during Covid (Getty)

Another Covid inquiry day, another set of triggering revelations that give me haunting flashbacks. This time, it is the WhatsApp messages between Boris Johnson and his former communications director Lee Cain.

Johnson states being rocked by Covid fatality data, writing “the median age is 82… that is above life expectancy. So, get Covid and live longer.” In the exchange, Johnson even identifies the number of people over 80 (my father Ahsan-ul-Haq Chaudry being one of them) as 3 million.

The government’s former chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance’s notes revealed the sentiments of the chief whip, Mark Spencer, on the matter at the time: “I think we should let the old people get it and protect others.” The PM and his backbenchers were documented to be in agreement ( “A lot of my backbenchers think that and I must say I agree with them”).