\n
Boris Johnson has said he should have “twigged” the seriousness of Covid sooner, conceding earlier action could have been taken against the virus.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
Giving evidence to the Covid inquiry, the former prime minister said he had underestimated the “scale and the pace of the challenge” posed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
But he said this was also true of scientists and the “entire Whitehall establishment”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
And he insisted ministers did their “level best” in the circumstances.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
In the first of two days of testimony, Mr Johnson sought to defend his record in office, which has come in for criticism from other witnesses who have given evidence to the inquiry.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
He defended the timing of the first lockdown, saying that modelling had been incorrect and he had been advised not to impose measures too early.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
He admitted to a “certain amount of incoherence in our thinking,” but added: “Once we decided to act, I think it was pretty fast from flash to bang.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n- Lockdown should have been weeks earlier – Hancock<\/li>\n
- What is the UK Covid inquiry and how does it work? <\/li>\n
- Eight tough questions facing Johnson on Covid<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
He began his testimony by saying he was sorry for the “pain and the loss and the suffering” people experienced during the pandemic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
His comments were interrupted by protesters, who were ordered to leave the inquiry room. Some members of bereaved families stood up holding pieces of paper, spelling out the message: “The dead can’t hear your apologies.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
Mr Johnson has been criticised for being slow to make decisions during the pandemic and being unable to make up his mind about what to do.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
Over several hours of questioning by lead inquiry lawyer Hugo Keith KC he put in a measured performance, which largely lacked the tetchy exchanges seen during his grilling over Partygate by a committee of MPs earlier this year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
But the former prime minister had to take back an accusation that Mr Keith had suggested he “put his feet up” at his official country retreat during the 2020 February half-term, adding he had confused it with comments from someone else.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
And he choked up when he described the return of the virus after the first national lockdown, describing 2020 as a “tragic, tragic year”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n