‘I’m done’: British fed up with barbecue buddies at G7 summit
Photographs of world leaders eating at intimate gatherings have fuelled a rebellion that is festering across Britain.
Photographs of world leaders including Scott Morrison tucking into Moorland sirloin and Newlyn lobster in small intimate gatherings by a Cornish beach on Saturday have fuelled a rebellion that is festering across Britain.
Pictures of the G7 leaders and the invited leaders from Australia and South Korea enjoying the various festivities at the G7 in Carbis Bay without masks and without social distancing has sparked anger across the land.
For while the world leaders enjoyed freedoms, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is poised on Tuesday to abandon “freedom day’’ next Tuesday and instead extend Britain’s social distancing measures, which includes limit of six people gathering, the wearing of masks and remaining distant from others.
The British airwaves were awash on Monday with indignation and fury from the public, which has seen the G7 leaders’ elbow bumps turn into intimate back-slapping and hugging as Mr Johnson’s plans to extend the lockdown was leaked to the media.
Three pictures in particular have raised eyebrows: the G7 leaders gathering side-by-side to watch the aerial acrobatics antics of the Red Arrows; the G7 leaders as well as Mr Morrison and South Korean President Moon Jai-in joining about 70 others for a barbecue of mackerel, sirloin and lobster before gathering around for buttered rum at firepits; and US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron walking as their arms were around each other’s back.
James Melville, a political writer for the Byline Times website, tweeted: “The antics of the G7 leaders are the final straw. For months they have curbed our freedoms, told us to know our place and stacked up horrific collateral damages on society. And yet they strutted around the G7 summit like they were at a frat party. We should all now say …#ImDone.”
The hashtag “I’mdone” began trending No. 1 on Twitter as a statement of defiance against the ongoing restrictions.
Sound recordist Paul Nichols said: “Yep, 200 shows a year for 25 years and my last one was around 460 days ago. It’s time to end this utter insanity and start living again.”
Ninety per cent of more than 30,000 people in a snap poll by radio station TalkSport wanted all lockdown measures to end immediately. Another poll by Omnium, taken last week before the G7, showed that 54 per cent of people supported the lockdown extension.
Mr Johnson is expected to announce that Britain will have to stay under various countermeasures for at least another four weeks in “one last heave’’, blaming a surge in the Delta, or Indian variant. He is to announce that the extension will allow younger people to be vaccinated, and also it will help protect the National Health Service, which is heaving under dealing with the backlog of medical issues, including cancer cases, that was abandoned last year. Under the measures there are strict controls on indoor venues, with many remaining shut. But he is expected to allow bigger weddings to go ahead.
The government has been changing the goalposts for the entire pandemic and Mr Johnson’s plea for patience may be ignored when people look at the data, which shows low Covid deaths and low hospitalisations and high vaccine take-up.
It hasn’t helped that throughout the pandemic, the public has been reassured that each measure would be short-lasting.
Last July Mr Johnson said “it is my strong and sincere hope to review outstanding restrictions and allow more significant return to normality in November in time for Christmas”, then in November he announced, “things will look and feel very different after Easter”.
Foreign Minister Dominic Raab claimed that government business was different to public rules when he was asked why Britons attending an outdoor wedding have to wear masks, stand apart and are limited in numbers, while G7 attendees didn’t have to comply with the current British rules.
“In fairness, there have always been different principles for social entertainment or weddings than for government business,” he said.
“Those rules have been the same all along.’’
Those attending the G7 summit had to submit daily negative Covid tests.
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