Coronavirus: Boris Johnson incorrectly says government advice had not said care home outbreaks ‘very unlikely’

No 10 accuses Starmer of 'inaccurately and selectively' quoting from official guidance

Boris Johnson has wrongly denied that official advice said care home residents were “very unlikely” to catch coronavirus, as his handling of the crisis came in for fresh criticism.

Keir Starmer said the earlier guidance laid bare how the government was “too slow to protect people in care homes” – which now account for 40 per cent of all Covid-19 deaths.

In reply, the prime minister said: “No, it wasn’t true that the advice said that”, going on to claim the lockdown began earlier in care homes.

However, the advice, from 12 March, clearly states: “This guidance is intended for the current position in the UK where there is currently no transmission of Covid-19 in the community.

“It is therefore very unlikely that anyone receiving care in a care home or the community will become infected.”

Mr Johnson has been repeatedly accused of failing to act quickly enough to curb the spread of coronavirus, missing key meetings in February and flirting with the ‘herd immunity’ strategy.

The denial raises the prospect that he will have to return to the Commons to correct the record and avoid accusations that he has actively misled MPs.

It came as Sir Keir accused ministers of dropping daily slides comparing death rates in various countries, because the UK is now in an “unenviable place”.

Within moments of prime minister’s questions, the Labour leader released a letter to the prime minister, calling on him to put the record straight.

“At this time of national crisis, it is more important than ever that government ministers are accurate in the information they give.,” he wrote.

“Given this, I expect you to come to the House of Commons at the earliest opportunity to correct the record and to recognise that this was official government guidance regarding care homes.”

But Downing Street accused Sir Keir of "inaccurately and selectively" quoting from the guidance, and made it clear the prime minister would not be returning to parliament to clarify his comments.

A source told a Westminster briefing that Sir Keir omitted the preceding sentence which said the advice was "intended for the current position in the UK where there is currently no transmission of COVID-19 in the community".

The source said: "I think what's actually happened is that the leader of the opposition has inaccurately and selectively quoted from the Public Health England guidance and that is what the prime minister was referring to."

During another difficult Commons session for Mr Johnson, he announced “a further £600m I can announce today for infection control in care homes”.

“Yes, it is absolutely true that the number of casualties has been too high but I can tell the House, as I told [Sir Keir] last week, and indeed this week, the number of outbreaks is down and the number of fatalities in care homes is now well down.”

And he admitted: “He's right to draw attention, as I said, to the tragedy that has been taking place in care homes.”

However, on Tuesday, health secretary Matt Hancock claimed success in care homes, by comparison with other countries, because “only a quarter” of deaths have taken place there.

Mr Hancock has promised that every staff member and resident will be tested for the virus, but there is still criticism that this is not happening.