Richard Walker: ‘Leaders’ flouting Covid rules at G7 made a mockery of us all

While I’m a big defender of people being free to express their opinions no matter how barking I might consider them to be, there are of course limits. Racists, for example, are not free to spew out their vile opinions if it puts innocent people at risk of abuse and violent attack.

The dangers of anti-vac anger spilling over into threatening behaviour was obvious on Tuesday when social media filled up with film showing the BBC journalist Nicholas Watt being chased down Downing Street by people protesting at the extension of coronavirus restrictions for a further four weeks.

As I said, people have every right to protest against government action they disagree with. But there is something threatening seeing a mob shouting “traitor” and gathering around an individual accusing him of lying. I’d disagree with that treatment of any individual but admit to finding it particularly chilling when it’s directed at a journalist for simply reporting a statement by the Government.

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I worry about that behaviour ramping up to create an atmosphere which makes it difficult for anyone – no matter what their beliefs – to have a reasonable conversation without feeling threatened.

I believe most of us would agree that the threat of Covid demands behaviour which suggests respect and an acknowledgment that we should do what we can to keep each other safe. The evidence over the past year certainly suggests that’s the case. The restrictions imposed by the Scottish Government were not enforced by patrols of armed police on the streets.

Most people complied with most of the rules most of the time because they agreed it was for the greater good. And they did so at some cost. Many had not until recently seen members of their family for some time.

Some abandoned wedding plans, and not just once. We have buried our loved ones in smaller groups, or stayed away because we knew family members had to take precedence. Friendships moved on to digital platforms, but we all felt the loss of human contact and I think we’ve all paid some price in terms of our mental health.

Of course, that doesn’t mean we’ve all agreed that all the measures imposed were necessary or correct.

The hospitality and entertainment industry, for example, have real problems accepting that the restrictions imposed on their businesses were fair. If I’m honest, I think they have some good points, particularly about their lack of contact with the Government.

But we have generally done what was required to maintain widespread compliance with the rules, no matter how difficult that has been in individual cases, because the alternative was unthinkable.

I joined a choir some years ago. It has been one of the joys of my life and I know the same is true of the other members. There is something about singing together – even, in my case, singing out of tune – that feeds the soul. The choir has not met in person for more than a year, and although rehearsals have continued on Zoom, it’s not been the same.

This week we met again since lockdown was first imposed. We met outside, respected social distancing and wore masks modified to make singing easier. It wasn’t perfect but it was brilliant and made the more so because of the general attention paid to making us feel safe.

I’m saying all this to explain – maybe mostly to myself – the rage I felt when I saw pictures of world leaders relaxing at G7 social events. No masks, no social distancing, not a care for the sacrifices people have made because they felt it their duty to friends, neighbours and complete strangers to do so. To make matters worse, the official “staged” photographs attempted to portray an entirely different story.

IN those pictures, the politicians elbow-bumped, stood apart, wore masks. They obviously felt it was right to show themselves respecting the rules they had imposed on their own peoples. But later, there they were patting each other on the back, thronging round the barbecue, crowding together to watch the Red Arrows fly past.

What made matters worse was Dominic Raab’s TV interview with Trevor Phillips, in which the Foreign Secretary blatantly lied about the G7 leaders’ behaviour.

Here’s a tip for politicians wanting to win the public over: don’t dispute the evidence before their own eyes. Don’t say the leaders are observing social distancing when there are films easily available showing that they are undeniably not doing so.

And don’t witter on about the serious business of government when you are referring to a barbecue or a bunch of people lining up to watch aeroplanes in the sky. People know the difference and they know that difficult issues such as the Northern Ireland Protocol are made not the slightest bit easier to solve by mustard, relish and a beef patty on a bun.

And yes, I’ve heard the excuses. I’ve heard the claim that they have all been double vaccinated and they are all tested every day.

A few points here. Lots of people have been double vaccinated and the restrictions imposed on them are exactly the same as on those who have yet to receive a single jag. Receiving a double dose of a vaccine gives you absolutely no leeway to interpret restrictions differently or ignoring them altogether. Referring to the tests our great leaders receive is addressing a different issue. People are upset at the leaders’ flouting of Covid rules not because we’re worried about them getting ill. Frankly, we don’t care.

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What enrages us about their behaviour is this:

1. It suggests that they consider themselves above the rules that apply to us mere mortals, even when they have imposed those rules themselves. They are not.

2. If they consider the rules to be not worth following, why should we follow them? If it’s OK for them to gather round the barbie in a group of more than 30, why isn’t it OK for us? Why can’t we have more than 30 at an outside wedding or at a graveyard for a funeral?

3. Do they really think we are stupid? Are we really expected to believe that a barbecue is an essential part of the G7 summit and that it would achieve anything less – if it is actually possible to achieve anything less that this summit managed – without it?

4. If its not necessary for these leaders to obey the rules for health reasons – what with all these vaccinations and tests and all – why pretend to be doing so in all those faked pictures with masks and social distancing measures which are ditched as soon as the cameras move on?

5. Aren’t leaders expected to, I don’t know, lead? And lead by example? Don’t we pay these people enough to at least pretend to respect us? If they don’t follow the rules then the anti-vac conspiracy theories will point to their behaviour as proof that we can all just do what we want with no repercussions at all. And that makes a mockery of all the sacrifices and heartache that so many of us have endured.