Boris Johnson is to honour NHS staff for their work during the outbreak (Image: Getty)
The list will recognise doctors, nurses, fundraisers and volunteers who have made outstanding contributions to the UK’s coronavirus response. It comes as the Prime Minister yesterday took a leadership role on the world stage with a powerful speech to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), calling for nations to unite in their battle against the disease, help deliver a vaccine and take on the anti-vaxxer “nutjobs”.
Sources have also said that Mr Johnson has been a unifying figure in government bringing together opposing factions in “a fraught week” in deciding the next stages in tackling coronavirus.
The recipients of knighthoods and other honours, to be announced on October 10, will follow in the footsteps of Captain Sir Tom Moore, the World War 2 veteran who captured the nation’s hearts at the beginning of the crisis when he raised a staggering £33 million for NHS charities.
Mr Johnson said the whole nation owes a “great debt of gratitude” to those due to be honoured.
He said: “As we all redouble our efforts to control the virus, protect the NHS and save lives this Winter, I am pleased we have an opportunity to recognise those who have given so much to this country already.
“The Coronavirus pandemic is the greatest health challenge in our lifetime. We all have to play our part, but the dedication, courage and compassion seen from these recipients, be it responding on the frontline or out in their communities providing support to the most vulnerable, is an inspiration to us all.
NHS staff protested for a pay rise after they were excluded from public sector boost (Image: Getty)
“We owe them a debt of gratitude and the 2020 Queen’s Birthday honours will be the first of many occasions where we can thank them as a nation.”
The Prime Minister made a call for names for the birthday honours list in May and it was delayed from the summer to allow new applications it be made.
In his speech to UNGA yesterday, Mr Johnson also called on countries not to put “national interest” first in developing and distributing a vaccine.
He pointed out that the UK has already prepared to hand out 1 billion doses to poorer countries.
And he took the fight to the anti-vaccine movement.
He said: “Even as we strive for a vaccine, we must never cut corners, slim down the trials or sacrifice safety to speed. Because it would be an absolute tragedy if in our eagerness, we were to boost the nutjobs – the anti vaxxers, dangerous obsessives who campaign against the whole concept of vaccination and who would risk further millions of lives.
“And now is the time above all to look ahead and think now about how to stop a pandemic from happening again. How can we stop another virus from coming along and again smashing that precious Ming vase of international cooperation? How can we avoid the mutual quarantines and the brutal Balkanisation of the world economy?
“I don’t think there is any reason for fatalism: of course, the dangers can never be wholly eliminated, but human ingenuity and expertise can reduce the risk.”
But his calls for unity came amid anger amongst Tory backbenchers over the Government’s handling of the crisis.
An amendment by Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the Tory 1922 backbench committee, is calling for greater parliamentary scrutiny for the Covid restrictions. It would also require the Government to put any change to a vote.
The Queen’s birthday will be the first formal event to honour staff (Image: Getty)
It has gathered nearly 50 signatures, meaning that the Prime Minister may have to rely on Labour to abstain to get his plans for emergency powers through unchallenged.
Meanwhile, as evidence grows of splits within the government on what to do next, a senior minister has admitted to the Sunday Express that he has “no intention” of downloading a controversial NHS track and trace app amid fears it will be used for surveillance and breach people’s privacy.
There are also ongoing rows over whether the rule of six and 10pm closing times for pubs and restaurants should be continued with one minister describing them as “just a fig leaf for the covid hardliners”.
There were even rumours that both Rishi Sunak and chief medical officer Chris Whitty had threatened to resign over different parts of the guidance – rumours dismissed as as “completely untrue”by Downing Street.
But public anger over the restrictions was evident yesterday as thousands of protesters crammed into Trafalgar Square to express their fury over restrictions.
Chris Whitty threatened to resign over parts of the Covid guidance (Image: Getty)
Scientists have also been critical of Professors Whitty and chief scientific officer Sir Patrick Vallance for their performance in a press conference on Monday last week. Infection figures they put forward in a broadcast have already been disputed.
Virologist Professor Hugh Pennington suggested that the Chief Scientific Advisor and Chief Medical Officer were “trying to scare us witless” because they wanted the public to sign up to new anti-pandemic measures.
MPs also privately and publicly expressed their dismay.
Former International Development minister Sir Desmond Swayne said: “I was appalled at this… It was bog science.”
The New Forest West MP warned that the “cure is worse that the disease” and described Mr Whitty and Sir Patrick’s stance as: “We want to terrify you into obeying a whole series of new restrictions which are going to wreck your economy and take your jobs and, what’s more, make more of you iller in the long run because there’s a huge collapse in the diagnosis of cancers and heart conditions and they are going to come home to roost.”
Sir Patrick Vallance has been criticised for his performance in a press briefing (Image: Getty)
Shipley MP Philip Davies has described the two scientists as “power mad” and pointed out that flu and pneumonia deaths have almost kept pace with coronavirus ones.
However, the rows over the handling of the virus have also dragged in the Prime Minister and continuing concerns over whether he will go next year.
One MP who played a leading role in Mr Johnson’s leadership campaign, privately admitted: “I think he just wants the job title. He’ll be gone by next year. There’s no leadership.”
A minister said that he believes Chancellor Rishi Sunak could end up as Prime Minister “by default” because “the Prime Minister looks unlikely to lead us into the next election and he [Sunak] is far ahead of the rest.”
Rishi Sunak could end up as prime minister (Image: Getty)
But many Blue Collar Conservative MPs who swept Labour’s red wall last year and are due to hold a virtual conference with the Express this week have expressed their rage over troublemakers in their own party.
Lee Anderson, a former Labour activist who is now the Conservative MP for Ashfield, dismissed the possibility of a leadership contest.
Pointing the finger at Left-wing rumour-mongers, he said: “I’m 100 percent behind him and all these rumours are just nonsense – absolute nonsense. It’s the liberal Left again – they’ve failed so far this year in everything they tried to do to undermine him and this is another way of trying to stoke division but we’re not having it.”
Defending the PM, he said Mr Johnson has “probably had the toughest time in peacetime of any other prime minister in history.”
