Overview
- Testifying to Module 8 of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, Johnson said the government was slow to grasp the “full horror” of the pandemic’s effect on children and he apologized for mistakes.
- He argued school closures should be a last resort in any future crisis, said social distancing rules probably went too far for children, and suggested children might have been exempted from some measures.
- Johnson accepted the 2020 exam-awarding model “let down a lot of kids,” with messages shown indicating he considered sacking Education Secretary Gavin Williamson and was in a “homicidal mood” over the fiasco.
- He denied a failure to plan for closures, saying he assumed the Department for Education was preparing, a claim at odds with evidence from Gavin Williamson and former DfE officials.
- He said the January 2021 decision to close schools could have been taken sooner, while campaigners, including Long Covid Kids, protested outside as the inquiry’s children-focused hearings continue.