3 h. ago UK ‘probably did go too far’ with Covid rules, Boris Johnson says

Former prime minister admits children paid ‘huge, huge price’ as government responded to pandemic

Politics

3 h. ago Boris Johnson says DfE failed to plan for school closures during Covid crisis

Former PM tells inquiry that children ‘were paying a huge, huge price to protect the rest of society’Boris Johnson laid blame on the Department for Education (DfE) over its lack of preparation for school closures at the outbreak of the pandemic, telling the Covid-19 inquiry that he assumed detailed planning was going on behind the scenes.“We were focused on trying to delay the peak of the pandemic and we thought that the closure of schools, if it had to be used at all, would be a measure of last resort,” the former prime minister said. He added: “It was my impression that the work was being done. I certainly, let me put it this way, I certainly assumed that the work was being done.” Continue reading...

Events

6 h. ago Boris Johnson denies UK failed to plan for Covid school closures

Former prime minister defends government’s response to pandemic but admits children paid ‘huge, huge price’

Politics

6 h. ago Boris Johnson says children paid a 'huge price' when schools were closed during Covid but officials DID plan ahead of 'nightmare' decision

The former PM told the UK Covid-19 Inquiry that it was 'obvious' there would need to be 'consideration of closing schools' and he believed education bosses were making a plan.

Politics

7 h. ago Covid inquiry live: children paid ‘huge price’ to protect rest of society in pandemic, says Johnson

The former prime minister says method for adjudicating exam results ‘must have been bitterly disappointing to students’Former prime minister Boris Johnson tries to give the inquiry context around the decision making on the closure of educational settings. He says:Don’t forget that we didn’t know the effect this disease had on kids. We didn’t know much about the transmissibility of the disease. There were all sorts of things that were simply unknown and difficult to plan for. And the thing was moving very fast.And from the point of view of No 10, we were focused very much on trying to stave off, trying to avoid an appalling public health crisis, and we were focused on getting enough ventilators, on getting enough PPE, trying to avoid a significant number of casualties, and I think it’s important for the inquiry to focus, to remember that at the time that the school closures were first mentioned, they were seen as something you put in at the peak of the pandemic, and we didn’t think w...

Politics

8 h. ago Covid inquiry live: Boris Johnson questioned over impact of pandemic on children

The former prime minister is appearing at the UK’s Covid-19 inquiryClair Dobbin KC is questioning the former prime minister. She is counsel to the Covid Inquiry. She leads its work in Northern Ireland and, separately, its work in relation to children.She has opened by asking about Gavin Williamson’s evidence which suggested there had been very little preparation for the closure of schools. She says his evidence was that “he didn’t seek assessment of the impact of school closures, and nor did he seek to develop planning for mass school closures because, and these were the words he used in his oral evidence, the steer I was hearing – whether it was in cabinet or anything else – was to keep things open, not about closing things.” Continue reading...

Politics