I'm time out on the competence/incompetence front - none of us know the full facts although there is an army of self-appointed experts who seem to think they do when they can't possibly know.
In an alternative scenario Whitty could well say how competent the Gov' were in the meetings he attended.
Time will tell in the same manner that the Chilcott enquiry did.
I think that there is a danger in injecting confirmation bias into possible future outcomes.
He may well say that. In same ways they maybe seen as being competent. They may start out with good intentions but much of the governments response has mostly come down to a total lack of leadership and not asking for the right help at the right time.