The mood among Westminster’s public health circles is grim. British Ebola specialists are breaking their usual reserve, labelling the latest Congo outbreak as ‘deeply alarming’. The warning comes hot on the heels of an MSF alert. Sources tell me the situation on the ground is deteriorating faster than official briefings suggest.
One Whitehall insider with direct knowledge of the scientific assessments put it bluntly: “This is not a drill. The strain is aggressive, logistics are a nightmare, and international attention is elsewhere.” The fear is that a slow response now could lead to a catastrophe.
For Number 10, this is a political minefield. The government is already on the back foot over aid spending. Any perception of being slow to act on a potential global health crisis could be toxic. I’m hearing the Cabinet Office is scrambling for a coordinated response, but there’s a sense of déjà vu. Remember the fumbled PPE procurement? The same players are involved.
The Foreign Office is trying to sound pro-active, but the reality is that the UK’s capacity for rapid deployment has been hollowed out. The specialists, many from Public Health England, are frustrated. They see the warning signs and feel powerless. One told me, “We’re shouting from the rooftops, but nobody’s listening.”
MSF’s alarm is significant. They don’t cry wolf. They’re on the front line, and they’re saying the current response is inadequate. The UK experts echo that. The political calculation, however, is complex. With Brexit trade talks and a potential winter Covid wave, bandwidth is limited.
But viruses don’t care about political calendars. The whisper in the Lobby is that the Chief Medical Officer is deeply concerned. His private advice is understood to be more urgent than his public statements. If he goes public with a stronger warning, the game changes. For now, the government is treading water. The question is: how long before the tide comes in?
The backbench mood is restless. Labour is sharpening its attacks, sensing a vulnerability. The Tory 1922 Committee is watching closely. Any misstep could trigger a full-blown crisis. Number 10 knows this. The next 48 hours are critical.
Inside the machine, the machinery is grinding. Emergency planning meetings are being held behind closed doors. But there’s a disconnect between the urgency from the experts and the pace of Whitehall. This is a story of two speeds: the frantic alarm from scientists and the deliberate, cautious steps of officials.
The public, of course, sees none of this. They just see another faraway crisis. But the experts know: Ebola doesn’t respect borders. The window to act is closing. The political fallout if we fail to learn from past mistakes will be brutal. Watch this space.
