29/11/2021. London, United Kingdom. Health Secretary Sajid Javid holds a call with his counterparts from the G7 to discuss the outbreak of the Omicron Covid-19 virus at the Department of Health and Social Care. Picture by Lauren Hurley / DHSC
29/11/2021. London, United Kingdom. Health Secretary Sajid Javid holds a call with his counterparts from the G7 to discuss the outbreak of the Omicron Covid-19 virus at the Department of Health and Social Care. Picture by Lauren Hurley / DHSC
The Conservative government in the UK has displayed in the past week that it has a very weird relationship with the truth. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and several of his cronies were busted for lying about hosting parties during lockdown last year – and the fibs don’t appear to have stopped there. Enter Sajid Javid…
When was Omicron first discovered?
The Health Secretary openly claimed in Parliament yesterday that it was Britain who ‘alerted the world to Omicron’. Nah, sorry, we’re calling bull on this one. And we’ve got the receipts to prove it…
SA’s Department of Health hosted a press conference on Thursday 25 November, presenting their findings on a ‘new variant’ that had ripped through the country – and was likely spreading overseas. Professor Tulio de Oliveira and his team were the first to identify B.1.1.529. All the UK did was spark a wave of nonsensical travel bans.
Quite a story, lying Tory: Sajid Javid savaged for fibbing
However, that didn’t stop Sajid Javid from trying to worm his way into the limelight. The minister, in response to a question from an opposition MP, seemingly lied about discovering Omicron unprovoked, when he was initially giving an answer about the UK’s testing capabilities:
‘There is no shortage of tests… the limiting factor, because of hugely increased demand… is the ability to deliver the tests, and having enough capacity to deliver the tests. But, may I remind the honourable member. it was the UK that alerted the world to the threat of Omicron.”
Sajid Javid
Outcry over Sajid Javid’s Omicron comments
Needless to say, Sajid Javid sparked a wave of outrage online, and it wasn’t long before Twitter users everywhere were calling him out. Sorry mate, but you don’t get to be the person who crushes our travel and tourism industry, and THEN take credit for discovering the new variant yourself. It doesn’t work that way.
Sajid Javid just said, "it was the UK that alerted the world to Omicron".
— Broke Britannia – Steve Smith (@BrokeBritannia) December 13, 2021
This is completely untrue, it was South Africa that told the world about Omicron! It's like he is just making stuff up and hoping we dont notice.
Yeah, that's why it is called the south African variant….
— roses (@mrs__gardener) December 13, 2021
Javid just claimed the UK alerted the world to Omicron.
— Average Halo player (@AdamDidThat) December 13, 2021
Was that the United Kingdom of South Africa?
Where do they get off making such bare faced lies?!
