Labour used pathetic opportunity to jump off the fence and call the Covid shortages a “shambles” last night.

Of course, the party has had plenty of opportunities to explain how it would handle the pandemic… and has cravenly ducked every single one.

Everyone admits that Boris Johnson committed mistakes in this terrible situation. Comparing today’s situation to the one a year back, where England was almost in total lockdown and chaos, Johnson deserves an award.

The Government is responsible for the persistent shortage of test results. The PM desperately wants us to live our lives.

As a result of Boris Johnson scuppering recent lockdowns, there has been unprecedented demand for Covid swabs

Due to the recent breakup of lockdowns by Boris Johnson, Covid swabs have seen unprecedented demand

Instead of trying to ruin Christmas and New Year through lockdowns (as the socialist regimes at Scotland and Wales did to great fury), he trusted that the public would behave in a responsible manner.

Swabs have seen an unprecedented increase in demand. It is a sign of achievement in and of itself. But ministers should address urgent test shortages.

It is essential to protect the nation and keep it running. Johnson expressed optimism by stating that Omicron is ‘obviously gentler’ than the previous versions.

Nearly three quarters of all patients admitted to hospital with Covid are “incidental” admissions. They have been tested positive for Covid after other check-ins.

And the vast majority in intensive care haven’t had boosters – proof jabs work.

If nearly one million individuals are not able to obtain swabs, then they won’t be able to leave the house for seven days. Pingdemic Mk II means that shops, hospitals and schools as well as supply chains and trains could grind to a halt. Failure to test will make a crisis a disaster.

In order to reduce staff shortages, it is necessary that the Prime Minister also cuts quarantine down from 5 days. Confining the healthy to their homes needlessly will hamper the economy and society – and our attempts to rebuild this Covid-battered country.

Loyalty is a must

The Mail campaigned for years to stop insurance companies from ripping off their loyal customers.

They have raised the premiums of long-term policyholders to be able to offer new customers discounted rates. This is a remarkable display of cynicism.

This penalises clients who don’t shop around for better deals elsewhere – invariably the elderly and vulnerable.

The Mail can be proud of its victory over exploited customers.

From Saturday, insurers will be banned from charging existing customers more than newcomers, saving them £4.2billion over ten years. This is a great development at a moment when the cost of living has risen dramatically.

To protect their bottom lines, however, businesses should not increase premiums.

Since its beginning, this paper has kept an eye out for the shady ways in which insurers operate. You can rest assured that we will not stop watching for suspicious tactics from insurers.

Terrorist parole peril

It is extremely concerning to think that the Parole Board could release almost 100 terrorists next year.

This, after all, is the same body that incomprehensibly freed double child killer Colin Pitchfork – before he was hauled back to jail amid fears he is still a danger.

This suggests that there are serious problems with how the secretive board draws its conclusions. Extreme caution is required when assessing terrorists. It is not worth thinking about what a terrorist might do if they are wrongly released.

As public safety is at stake, judges were instructed to use gender neutral language in courtrooms to be more inclusive.

Our justice system had always been soft. Is it now a regressive system?