Unverifiable: Prime Minister Boris Johnson used the phrase "let the bodies pile high" on more than one occasion.

By: Rachel Muller-Heyndyk
April 28 2021

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In 2017, Boris Johnson made offensive remarks on dead bodies in Libya. His comments on COVID-19 remain unverified. The Daily Mail columnist Dan Hodges recently tweeted: "I'm told Boris has actually made the 'bodies pile high' comment on more than one occasion." Hodges was referring to recent headlines stating that sources revealed that Johnson had said that he would rather "let the bodies pile high" than go into another lockdown to stop the spread of COVID-19. As of April 18 2021, the U.K had the highest mortality rate in Europe due to COVID-19, with 127,270 deaths recorded since the start of the outbreak in late 2020. The news was reported in several outlets, but as all of the sources are anonymous, it is not possible to prove whether Johnson made the comments, let alone how many times he might have made them. However, Johnson has made offensive and controversial comments in the past. In 2017, Johnson said that the Libyan city of Cirte could be the next Dubai if "it cleared the bodies away." He refused to apologize for the remarks. The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19 including symptoms, prevention and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority.