The government is bungling the Omicron disaster – just like the climate crisis

Even as the UK hosted the failed Cop26 climate summit, Grant Shapps was wittering about how we should not feel guilty for flying. But the facts clearly contradict him, writes Donnachadh McCarthy

Transport minister Grant Shapps is an avowed aviation enthusiast, owning a private £100,000 Saratoga Piper plane (PA)

How the government has mismanaged the Omicron disaster has chilling parallels to how it is mismanaging the far more dangerous climate catastrophe. Earlier this year, as the lifesaving Covid vaccine programme was rolled out, the government knew two crucial facts that would ensure that its continued protection of our economy and population.

The first was that unless the entire global population was immunised as fast as possible, vaccine-immune variants could emerge and threaten Britain again. And the second was that if such a vaccine-immune variant emerged, it would infect Britain’s vaccinated bubble via international flights if they were not suspended.

Boris Johnson, as chair of the G7, was in a position to coordinate an international task force to help vaccinate poorer countries as fast as possible. But our prime clown failed to do so.