Boris Johnson has admitted his government “vastly underestimated” the dangers posed by Covid-19 and displayed “incoherence” in early 2020, in his testimony to the public inquiry into the UK’s response to the pandemic.
The former prime minister on Wednesday conceded that his administration failed to accept scientific evidence in the early weeks of the crisis, striking a sombre tone following damaging claims by former top officials and ministers in recent weeks.
In the first of two days of evidence, Johnson said he should have “twigged much sooner” what impact coronavirus might have as scenes emerged from Italy in February 2020. But at the time the threat was not escalated as “something of truly national concern”, he added.