‘Tens of thousands died who didn’t need to die’

Latest updates and essential advice from The Independent [View in browser]( [Alternate text] Daily briefing May 27, 2021 Today’s essential news from the source you trust This morning’s headlines Boris Johnson is [not a “fit and proper person” to lead Britain]( through the coronavirus pandemic, after committing a string of “disastrous” mistakes that caused tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths, his former right-hand man Dominic Cummings has said. In a remarkable seven-hour evidence session before a parliamentary inquiry, Mr Cummings said the prime minister had dismissed Covid-19 as a “scare story” in the early months of the outbreak, ordering the first English lockdown at least three weeks too late in March 2020 and then resisting scientists’ pleas to reimpose restrictions in the autumn. Mr Johnson repeatedly said he wanted to be like “the mayor in Jaws” who kept beaches open despite shark attacks and when finally forced to authorise the second lockdown in October said he would rather see “bodies pile high” than do the same again, the former Downing Street adviser told MPs. Answering questions from the House of Commons health and science committees, Mr Cummings painted a picture of chaos and disarray in No 10 as the threat of Covid emerged from China in January 2020. Coronavirus is [going to do “weird” things and “super mutant viruses” may emerge](, an expert has warned. Ravi Gupta, professor of clinical microbiology at the University of Cambridge, said that while this would not necessarily be a bad thing, the virus would try to become more efficient at transmission as more people are protected. He added that coronavirus is unpredictable and we should not be overconfident at any stage. Asked about how to prepare for future variants, Prof Gupta told a press briefing: “I think we have good vaccines, now we need to keep the pressure on vaccine designers, manufacturers to adapt vaccines.” He added: “Secondly, the virus is going to do some weird things. I mean, this is just the beginning. I think it’s going to recombine, you're going to get super mutant viruses, I believe.” [Eight people were killed in a mass shooting]( during a union meeting at a train yard in San Jose, California, on Wednesday. Santa Clara County sheriff Laurie Smith said officers ran into the building as shots were being fired in “heroics that resulted in a diminished loss of life”. A fire was reported around the time of the shooting at the alleged gunman’s San Jose house, about nine miles from the main railway crime scene, according to a firefighter who attended the scene. The FBI and bomb squad were also investigating the building. Authorities reportedly found gasoline and hundreds of rounds of ammunition inside. . We need your support The Independent employs over 100 journalists around the world to bring you news you can trust. Please consider showing your support with a contribution. [Contribute]( . Top stories [Eric Carle, author of ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’, dies at 91]( [Hillsborough police trial collapses as judge rules no case to answer over ‘cover-up’]( [Teacher suspended in Prophet Muhammad image row reinstated]( . . Stories chosen for you - [Keir Starmer refuses 14 times to tell Piers Morgan if he has taken drugs]( - [Is there anything Cummings could say that would make people angry with Boris? | Chris Stevenson]( - [Switzerland ends talks toward sweeping new accords with EU]( - [What is the ‘scout mindset’? The self-help technique for making better decisions]( - [Opinion: The government cannot ignore unfair evictions forever]( . News you can trust The Independent has a 100% NewsGuard trust rating [NewsGuard] [Find out more]( . If you can spare two minutes we’d love to hear your [feedback]( on our newsletters [Alternate text] Join the conversation or follow us [Twitter]( [Facebook]( Please do not reply directly to this email You are currently registered to receive The Independent's News email. Add us to your safe list of senders. If you do not want to receive The Independent News Daily Briefing email, please [unsubscribe](list_name=IND_Headlines_Masterlist_CDP). If you no longer wish to receive any newsletters or promotional emails from The Independent, you can unsubscribe [here](. This e-mail was sent by Independent Digital News and Media Ltd, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5HF. Registered in England and Wales with company number 07320345. Read our [privacy notice]( and [cookie policy](.