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Ann Widdecombe says government should have taken ‘relaxed’ approach to coronavirus and only locked down ‘unhealthy’
Ann Widdecombe. Photograph: ITV. - Credit: Archant
Former Brexit Party MEP Ann Widdecombe has complained the government did not take a more 'relaxed' approach to the coronavirus pandemic, and called for only the 'unhealthy' to be locked down in the future.
The Brexiteer stood by her claims that the government had took the wrong attitude to the pandemic, despite its slow response leading to the highest mortality rate in Europe.
Widdecombe told the Brexit Watch YouTube channel the government was 'suffering from a malaise' which she said was 'a requirement to be seen to be doing something'.
She said that Boris Johnson's administration should have taken a 'relaxed' view rather than a 'catastrophic' approach.
She said: 'There's no such thing as stepping back and saying we've decided we're going to do this, we think that's effective, we're now going to watch how things are going to turn out.
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'It's an immediate reaction to the smallest change, it's riding every wave, it's a catastrophic approach.
'It hasn't turned served us well, if you look at countries like Sweden which took a different attitude, and you can never do a direct comparison... but nevertheless governments which have been slightly more relaxed in the approach and more consistent their economies have been much less badly affected than ours.'
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The former MEP also insisted that only the 'unhealthy' should have been locked down, leaving the rest to run the economy.
She explained: 'I haven't changed my mind it is still overwhelmingly the case about nine out of 10 - those aren't my figures they are scientific figures - of those who have died have had other underlying health conditions.
'Science still says four out of five didn't even know they'd got it... all that to me argued and still argues against a universal lockdown.
'We should have locked down sooner the unhealthy, because it was obvious it was hitting those from day one it was hitting those with breathing problems.
'We should have locked down much earlier the unhealthy, we should have recognised the problem of obesity much earlier... and we should have locked down and told everyone else it was their duty to run the economy or with the volunteering.
'I wasn't allowed to volunteer because I was over 70, what a load of nonsense'.
Earlier in the month Widdecombe called for a separate shopping for those that do not agree with face masks, claiming those that do not agree with them are avoiding the shops.
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