Boris Johnson 'scrapped Cabinet pandemic committee six months before coronavirus hit UK'

Boris Johnson scrapped a team of senior ministers charged with preparing the country for a pandemic six months before the outbreak of coronavirus in the UK, according to a report. According to the Daily Mail, the group - called the Threats, Hazards, Resilience and Contingency Committee (THRCC) - was suspended by former prime minister Theresa May on the advice of Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill so that civil servants and ministers could focus on Brexit. The Government committee, which included Cabinet ministers such as Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, Michael Gove and Gavin Williamson, was abolished by Mr Johnson a few days after he entered Downing Street. The committee was axed without discussing virus control plans. On Friday night, a former Cabinet minister - who was a member of THRCC - told the Mail that it could have helped to Government to respond more quickly to the virus. "Once the pandemic took hold in Italy... alarm bells would have been ringing," the former minister said. "We would have stress-tested the Government’s contingency plans for dealing with a pandemic."

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