UK ex-PM Boris Johnson says ‘sorry’ for COVID pain & loss

Britain’s former prime minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday said he is “deeply sorry” for the pain and the loss caused by COVID-19 as he gave his evidence to the ongoing official public inquiry into the government’s handling of the pandemic which hit the country in early 2020.

Johnson admitted he should have “twigged” the widespread health impact of coronavirus but insisted he had to take “very, very difficult decisions” as the crisis was fast unfolding. Inquiry chair Baroness Heather Hallett had to get a protester removed from the room as they held up a poster reading: “The dead can’t hear your apologies”.

“I am deeply sorry for the pain and the loss and the suffering of those victims and their families,” said Johnson, after swearing on the Bible’ for his evidence.

“I do hope that this inquiry will help to get the answers to the very difficult questions that those victims and those families are rightly asking so that we can protect ourselves better, help each other to protect ourselves better and prevent further suffering,” he said.