The UK's former prime minister Boris Johnson speaking at the Covid-19 inquiry in December 2023. Photograph: AFP via Getty Images
The initial UK-wide political response to the Covid-19 pandemic was “too little, too late” and cost up to 23,000 lives in England alone during the first wave in spring 2020, the UK’s pandemic inquiry has found.
It also found it “inexcusable” that the same mistakes were repeated in later waves, while also finding that some lockdowns could have been avoided altogether.
The 756-page report from the inquiry, chaired by retired judge Heather Hallett, found that a “toxic and chaotic culture” in Downing Street under UK prime minister Boris Johnson hampered the UK’s response.
It also
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