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Failures of State

The Inside Story of Britain’s Battle with Coronavirus

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Failures of State

By: Jonathan Calvert, George Arbuthnott
Narrated by: Mark Elstob
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About this listen

*THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER*

A GUARDIAN AND SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR

‘An astonishing book’ James O’Brien

‘A gripping, devastating read’ Sunday Times

The inside story of the UK’s response to the pandemic from the Insight investigations unit at The Sunday Times

Failures of State recounts the extraordinary political decisions taken at the heart of Boris Johnson’s government during the global pandemic.

Fully updated and corroborated by hundreds of sources, this is the insider’s account of how the government sleepwalked into disaster and tried to cover up its role in the tragedy. Thrillingly told, it exposes one of the most scandalous failures of political leadership in British history.

‘A damning indictment’ Alan Johnson, Observer

‘A devastating piece of journalism’ Andrew Marr

‘This is a scandal’ Piers Morgan

21st Century Corruption & Misconduct Elections & Political Process Modern Politics & Government Medicine Government China

Critic reviews

An astonishing book that you absolutely have to buy … the nearest we’ll get to an inquiry.’ James O’Brien

Failures of State is a Christmas-at-Argos sized catalogue of the government’s errors, page after page filled with its mistakes, misjudgments and even its possibly actionable crimes.’ Jonathan Freedland, Guardian

‘This book is superb. Painful but necessary reading.’ Rachel Clarke

A masterpiece. This is one of the most important books of our time.’ Owen Jones

‘A brilliantly presented indictment of the UK’s fumbling attempt to meet the Covid challenge.’ Kazuo Ishiguro, Guardian

Failures of State is a gripping, devastating read. It’s a piece of first-class investigative journalism… this is a work of history. It’s witness. It’s also a kind of catharsis.’ Christina Patterson, Sunday Times

Incredibly reported and wildly damning … It is impossible to read Failures of State, the frequently jaw-dropping book by Sunday Times journalists Jonathan Calvert and George Arbuthnott, and not conclude that the British people deserved far, far better from the government’ Marina Hyde, Guardian

A frightening and detailed account of the failures of the last 12 months. Some of the revelations are sickening and shocking.’ Armando Iannucci, satirist and writer

A damning indictment’ Alan Johnson, Observer

‘Superb journalism … a truly remarkable book.’ Professor Devi Sridhar, Chair of Global Public Health

Buy it and read it so you’re never tempted to forget’ John Crace, Guardian journalist

A devastating new account of Year Covid exposes the Prime Minister’s utter failure to meet the nation’s greatest health crisis for a century.’ Paul Routledge, Daily Mirror

I cannot recommend this book enough’ David Schneider, comedian and writer

All stars
Most relevant
Thegovernment's mishandling ofthe Coronavirus crisis - Boris Johnson's culpability revealed as close to that of a criminal.

Exceptionally well articulated decimation of .....

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I had heard and read a lot of things that the British government did wrong in relation to covid. In preparing for any kind of pandemic, in failing to listen to expert advice, in how they responded to the problem and in how they cynically exploited it for their own gains.

But nothing could prepare me for some of the revelations in this book.

If you are labouring under the belief that the government did its best, listen to this and be thoroughly disabused of that view!

Absolutely mind blowing

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Reliving this wasn’t easy, but it was a vital read. It’s an incredibly detailed account, but presented in a very accessible way. Thank you.

Exceptional and forensic look at utter the utter failure of the covid government

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Extremely well written account of the complete and utter incompetence of the government and particularly of the clown of a prime minister at the time. Frightening to hear of some of their decisions that were glossed over at the time and I think the audiobook is better than the hardcopy in this instance.

Excellent chronicle of events

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Clear, comprehensive and absolutely damning indictment of this government’s incompetence and malign wilfulness when failing to handle the ongoing pandemic.

Wonderfully incisive and utterly damning

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