Boris Johnson says Britons are ‘furious’ with him

Bloomberg

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he knows people feel angry over the way his government has handled the pandemic, but warned that coronavirus will make for a “very tough” winter, with difficulties lasting through Christmas and beyond.
Johnson acknowledged public anger over the government’s handling of the pandemic, especially in areas subject to tight lockdown rules, but warned that the country faces “a very tough winter” ahead.
“I know people are furious and they’re furious with me and they’re furious with the government,” he said on the BBC’s Andrew Marr program. “It’s going to be bumpy through to Christmas, it may even be bumpy beyond.”
Johnson conceded that the government’s encouragement for people to eat out over the summer may have helped to spread the virus, and also that its test and trace system needed to improve.
“Of course I’m frustrated with it,” he said of the government covid testing regime. “It’s not perfect, but it has made a huge difference to our ability to see where the virus is spreading.”
He said it is possible that there will be significant progress on a vaccine by December and that scientists told him the outlook for the pandemic will be radically different by next spring.
Johnson said a Brexit free trade deal with the EU is “there to be done” but warned of “difficult issues” that are yet to be fixed. Speaking to the BBC’s Marr, the premier said he had a good phonecall with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, where the two sides agreed to intensify negotiations.