A study by a joint committee of British MPs has described the UK government's early response to the Covid-19 pandemic as one of the worst national public health failures ever.
Their wide-ranging report claims that both ministers and scientists waited too long to enforce lockdowns last year at the cost of many lives and that the people in power did not efficiently examine, question or challenge the advice they were given.
It said serious errors and delays, including on testing, care homes and the timing of the first lockdown cost lives during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The study, from the cross-party Science and Technology Committee and the Health and Social Care Committee, said the UK's preparation for a pandemic was far too focused on flu and