Boris Johnson thinks the UK's coronavirus response has been a success. What planet is he living on?

Boris Johnson claims “there will be many people looking now at our apparent success”. Of all the lies foisted on the British public, all the empty slogans, all the promises on the side of buses, this could yet prove the greatest.

The government reports that over 26,000 people have died of coronavirus so far; the real number is estimated to be over 45,000. Despite our small population, the UK has the fifth-highest number of deaths in the world: of every 10 lives the virus claims around the world, one is British.

We already have an inkling of how this came to pass: the government ignored Exercise Cygnus. They failed to test, trace and quarantine. They failed to procure PPE. While other governments announced lockdowns, our prime minister missed Cobra meetings, mused about herd immunity and boasted of shaking hands with infected patients. Less Churchill, more bumbling First World War general sending unequipped troops over the hill.

The British public aren’t stupid – we know we’re in a crisis. But it’s the spin and lies we can’t stand. On Monday, Panorama revealed that even the government’s boast of a billion pieces of PPE relied on counting paper towels, disinfectant and individual gloves. At the weekend, The Guardian revealed that Dominic Cummings spoke up frequently in meetings of Sage, the supposedly independent scientific advisory group. Rather than “follow the science”, our political leaders are interfering with it. These distortions of truth shape public discourse – down is up and back is front.

Here, our billionaire-owned newspapers fawn over the miracle of Boris Johnson’s Easter recovery, directing us to look anywhere except at the facts. But outside the UK, the press understands we are among the worst-hit countries and that something has gone terribly wrong. The world points at us in the way we once did Wuhan.

What successes there have been are felt only by a select few. While small businesses die and millions line up for universal credit, Amazon adds billions to its sales and profits and Richard Branson begs for a bailout. As Telegraph columnists complain of friends bored with lockdown, those trapped in cramped tower blocks suffer, and low-paid key workers risk their lives to keep the country going. Domestic abuse soars. Immigrants with no income become destitute.

Constituents who’ve come to me for help recently include a mother trapped in temporary accommodation after fleeing domestic abuse. She shares a bedroom not just with her teenage son, but with damp, mould, leaks and electrical faults. Another regularly goes without running water. A family of five remain stuck on the council housing list in a one-bedroom flat, the father with acute health problems and a son with autism. “All in it together” we are most certainly not.

Forgive the people I represent in Edmonton if Boris Johnson’s “success” is not so apparent to them. Enfield was already the fifth most deprived borough in London, with a 42 per cent child poverty rate. After being forced to cut £178m from its budget over the past 10 years, Enfield Council now puts the new cost of keeping basic public services afloat during the virus at £68m. So far, the government has given it just £8.8m. No wonder our poorest are suffering.

We know we are living in the hardest of times – we can handle that truth. What we cannot abide is the lie that the government is handling this crisis successfully.

Kate Osamor is the Labour Party MP for Edmonton