Current:Home > StocksFormer UK leader Boris Johnson returns for second day of COVID-19 inquiry testimony -Aspire Money Growth
Former UK leader Boris Johnson returns for second day of COVID-19 inquiry testimony
View
Date:2025-04-15 16:46:34
LONDON (AP) — Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson returns Thursday for a second day of testimony in Britain’s public inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic, where he is expected to be grilled about how he dealt with the latter stages of the crisis.
Johnson, who is testifying under oath, admitted Wednesday that he made mistakes in grasping the extent of the pandemic and that his advisers failed to sound a “loud enough klaxon of alarm” about the virus.
“I was not being informed that this was something that was going to require urgent and immediate action,” he said, adding that the “panic level was not sufficiently high.”
His remarks came after weeks of testimony by other ministers, including former Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who said they sought to raise the alarm inside the government. Hancock argued that thousands of lives could have been saved by putting the country under a lockdown a few weeks earlier than the eventual date of March 23, 2020.
The United Kingdom went on to have one of Europe’s longest and strictest lockdowns, as well as one of the continent’s highest COVID-19 death tolls, with the virus recorded as a cause of death for more than 232,000 people.
The inquiry is designed to uncover the lessons of COVID-19 to help officials better respond to future pandemics, but its revelations could further tarnish Johnson’s battered reputation.
Johnson, who was celebrated for delivering a landslide victory for his Conservative Party in 2019, was forced to resign as prime minister last year following a series of scandals, including revelations about boozy parties at his Downing Street offices while the country was locked down during the pandemic.
veryGood! (23)
Related
- Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
- 'No evidence of aliens:' U.S.'s former top UFO hunter opens up in podcast interview
- Kentucky lawmakers resume debate over reopening road in the heart of the state Capitol complex
- With Pitchfork in peril, a word on the purpose of music journalism
- A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
- 60-feet sinkhole opened in Florida front lawn, leaving neighbors nervous
- Customers eligible for Chick-fil-A's $4.4 million lawsuit settlement are almost out of time
- Brewers agree to terms with former Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins, per report
- Meet first time Grammy nominee Charley Crockett
- Jury seated in trial of Michigan mom whose son killed 4 at school
Ranking
- This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
- Oregon jury awards $85 million to 9 victims of deadly 2020 wildfires
- Oreo's new blue-and-pink Space Dunk cookies have popping candies inside
- Collision of gas truck and car in Mongolian capital kills at least 6 and injures 11
- Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
- Russia hits Ukraine's biggest cities with deadly missile attack as Moscow blames U.S. for diplomatic deadlock
- 'Barbie' receives 8 Oscar nominations, but was that Kenough?
- Officer shoots suspect who stabbed 2 with knife outside Atlanta train station, authorities say
Recommendation
Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
Daniel Will: Emphasizing the role of artificial intelligence in guiding the next generation of financial decision-making.
COVID variant JN.1 is not more severe, early CDC data suggests
A record-size blanket of smelly seaweed could ruin your spring beach trip. What to know.
Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
Georgia port awarded $15M federal infrastructure grant for new docks, terminal upgrades
Mother of disabled girl who was allegedly raped in Starbucks bathroom sues company, school district
Georgia Senate passes new Cobb school board districts, but Democrats say they don’t end racial bias