Boris Johnson admits UK could have handled coronavirus outbreak better in early months

Boris Johnson has admitted that his government could have handled the coronavirus crisis differently, as he said there were “open questions” over the timing of his decision to lock down the country.

The global pandemic was poorly understood in its early stages, the prime minister said.

Asked whether lockdown had come too late, he said: “When you listen to the scientists, the questions that you’ve just asked are actually very open questions as far as they are concerned.

“This was something that was new, that we didn’t understand in the way that we would have liked in the first few weeks and months, and ... the single thing that we didn’t see at the beginning was the extent to which it was being transmitted asymptomatically from person to person,” he said in an interview with the BBC.

In a cautious assessment, he added: “I think it’s fair to say that there are things that we need to learn about how we handled it in the early stages.”

He insisted that ministers had “stuck like glue” to the advice of scientific experts.

But asked if that advice could have been wrong, he said: “Maybe there were things we could have done differently.”

Mr Johnson has agreed to hold a public inquiry into his government’s handling of the pandemic.

However, he insists it cannot be held now because the country has to stay focused on the fight against Covid-19.

Initial responses to an urgent independent cross-party inquiry into what lessons ministers can learn warn of a lack of personal protective equipment and inadequate testing.

In its submission, the British Medical Association (BMA) said the government’s test-and-trace capabilities at the start of the crisis fell “far short” of what was needed and left the infection to “spread unchecked”.

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, who is chairing the inquiry, said: “Boris Johnson has finally admitted that mistakes were made; now it’s vital we learn from them.”

Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, said: “Boris Johnson has finally admitted the government has mishandled its response to the coronavirus. It was too slow to acknowledge the threat of the virus, too slow to enter lockdown and too slow to take this crisis seriously.

“The threat of a second wave is still very real. It is imperative the government learns the lessons of its mistakes so we can help to save lives.”

Acting Liberal Democrat co-leader Ed Davey said the prime minister had “admitted what we have all known for some time – this government made fundamental mistakes in their handling of the coronavirus crisis”.

He added: “However, to try and minimise this as there were some things they could have done differently is not only an enormous understatement, but it is an insult to all those who tragically lost loved ones to the virus.”