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Johnson said consulting with unions over return-to-work was ‘bollocks’

Diary entry from Patrick Vallance claims former PM dismissed mask wearing and working from home

By Ruby Lott-Lavigna
Johnson said consulting with unions over return-to-work was ‘bollocks’
Boris Johnson pictured outside Downing Street in January 2022. He is said to have dismissed the idea of consulting unions over return-to-work measures in 2021 as "bollocks" | Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Boris Johnson said consulting with unions over back-to-work measures was “bollocks” during a discussion over removing Covid restrictions in England.

According to a diary entry from Patrick Vallance, dated 2 July 2021, the former prime minister dismissed the idea of involving workers’ voices.

“We can’t have the bollocks of consulting with employees [and] trade unions,” Vallance claimed Johnson said. “They need to all come back to work. All the malingering work-shy people.”

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