Brexiteer MPs orchestrating campaign to blame public for second wave, claims broadcaster

James O’Brien was responding to a poll showing that 59% of Britons believe the public, rather than the government, should be blamed for a second spike in Covid cases when he made the allegations.

‘The only way the government get away with this is by making it our fault,’ he told LBC listeners.

He said the same people who told the public to ignore experts during the 2016 Brexit referendum were are now saying ‘well, if you die, it’s because you’re thick’.

‘In 2016, the narrative of these shysters was that the elites were the problem and the British people were perfectly clever enough to make complicated decisions about future trading relationships, membership of the Single Market, Customs Union, freedom of movement.

‘Now the same people are saying ‘If you die, it’s because you’re thick’.

‘It’s an incredible reverse.’

He added: ‘My fear all along was that if these people weren’t held to account for the lies they told to you in 2016, the damage done by the next load of lies will make Brexit look like a cake walk.’

O’Brien pointed to the high number of Covid-19 deaths as a case in point. ‘It never crossed my mind that it would involve nearly 50,000 deaths, of which half were reportedly avoidable. And yet, here we are!’ he remarked.

The broadcaster pointed to a tweet from the Treasury which he said looked like a party invitation ahead of pubs reopening on Saturday, and reports of Stanley Johnson disobeying travel restrictions when it emerged he had flown to Greece.

‘They break them, you obey them,’ he said in reference to those restrictions.

‘Fast forward four years… if you go to the pub on Saturday, and you catch coronavirus, and end up dead then it’s your fault for being stupid,’ he alluded.

Circling back to the poll, he observed: ‘Who are you going to blame, the public or the government? Two to one the public. It’s there. It’s happened already.’