A British minister has flatly denied a report that Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would rather bodies piled "high in their thousands" than order a third social and economic lockdown to stem coronavirus infections.
Mr Johnson is facing a stream of allegations in newspapers about everything from his muddled initial handling of the Covid-19 crisis to questions over who financed the redecoration of his official apartment.
The Daily Mail newspaper cited unidentified sources assaying that, in October, shortly after agreeing to a second lockdown, Johnson told a meeting in Downing Street: "No more f***ing lockdowns – let the bodies pile high in their thousands." Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told Sky News: "It's not true- it's been