'We felt we had time and we didn't have time, and that's a source of great regret'
Northern Ireland’s former first minister Arlene Foster has expressed “great regret” that Stormont did not anticipate the speed with which the Covid-19 pandemic spread.
The baroness was asked about one of the most controversial episodes of pandemic, in November 2020, when the DUP deployed a contentious cross-community veto mechanism to block the extension of some Covid-19 restrictions in the region. During evidence to the inquiry hearing in Belfast, the former first minister referred to advice given by Northern Ireland’s chief medical officer Dr Michael McBride in mid March 2020 that the peak of the first wave was in 14 weeks away.
“We had had three years without a government . We had come back on January 11 . We had a lot of things to do, because there hadn’t been a government for three years, and we were then confronted with this global pandemic coming towards us. “I think it’s fair to say he worked so diligently for the Executive and for the people of Northern Ireland right throughout this pandemic.She then set out her views on the backdrop and context to the meetings, as she attempted to offer an explanation.
In response, Baroness Foster said: “Not at all. I absolutely accept my position as first minister. I’m just trying to explain what the context was, why relationships were so bad at that time, and why we got ourselves into a position where the cross-community vote was triggered.”
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