UK's sluggish pandemic response led to 23,000 more COVID deaths, inquiry finds

Friday, 21 November 2025 13:48

Former British prime minister Boris Johnson dithered and his reaction was "too little, too late", an expert report said.

The UK's crucial delay in imposing a lockdown during the pandemic led to 23,000 deaths in the first wave of COVID-19, an inquiry into government responses found.

Former prime minister Boris Johnson is blasted in the expert report for failing to grasp the severity of the virus and reacting "too little, too late", the BBC reports.

By global standards, Britain moved sluggishly in the early months of the pandemic.

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If voluntary measures, such as social distancing and isolating those with symptoms at home, had been introduced earlier than March 16, 2020, lockdown may have been avoided, the report said.

But the dithering by the Johnson government during a vital week made lockdown inevitable and led to 23,000 more deaths in England across the initial wave than would have been seen otherwise.

The governments of all four nations in the UK - England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland - were slammed by inquiry chair Baroness Hallet.

But she levelled stinging criticism of Johnson who oversaw a a "chaotic culture" in Downing Street, the official London home and office of the British prime minister.

He repeatedly changed his mind about the need for tougher controls, which meant the second lockdown in England was only introduced in November 2020 and came too late to contain the virus.

Cabinet ministers, including former health secretary Matt Hancock, and government scientists were also slammed by the inquiry for their slow responses during the pandemic as case numbers ballooned.

The inquiry also highlighted how politicians and their advisers who broke restrictions undermined public confidence in the government.

They include close Johnson aide Dominic Cummins who travelled hundreds of kilometres from his London home to north-eastern England.

But the inquiry praised the UK government for its "remarkable" introduction of vaccinations, and the prioritisation of vulnerable groups receiving the jab.