Sajid Javid apologises for saying UK cannot ‘cower’ from Covid
Sajid Javid has apologised for a tweet where he told people that the country cannot “cower” from Covid-19 anymore.
Javid said that he was “expressing gratitude that the vaccines help us fight back as a society”, but that “it was a poor choice of word and I sincerely apologise”.
The health secretary had tweeted yesterday that he had made a full recovery from coronavirus and urged people to “get your jab, as we learn to live with, rather than cower from, this virus”.
Labour accused Javid of “denigrating people” for “trying to keep themselves and their families safe”.
Tweeting today, Javid said: “Like many, I have lost loved ones to this awful virus and would never minimise its impact.”
Co-founder of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Jo Goodman earlier said that Javid’s comments yesterday were “deeply insensitive on a number of levels”.
“Words matter and the flippancy and carelessness of this comment has caused deep hurt and further muddied the waters of the government’s dangerously mixed messaging,” she said.