Thousands of lives could have been saved had the British government acted more quickly and decisively, according to a damning report into its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The first major report by a cross-group of MPs revealed there were serious errors and delays in handling the virus at the hands of the government and scientific advisors in the early days of the pandemic.
This resulted in the UK missing a chance to contain the virus that lead to thousands of unnecessary deaths.
Other key conclusions found not locking down early was "one of the most important public health failures" in the country’s history and that thousands of care home deaths were preventable.
The report also criticised the "unacceptably high" death rate among black, Asian and minority ethnic people and the ‘chaotic’ test and trace system.
The government admitted there were some lessons to be learned but defended its overall actions of the crisis.
"We followed the scientific advice, we protected the NHS. We took the decisions based on the evidence before us," Minister for Cabinet Office Stephen Barclay said.
"We’ve always said, with something so unprecedented as the pandemic, there will be lessons to learn.
"We’re keen to learn them, that’s why we’ve committed to an inquiry and that will be the opportunity to look at what could be done differently and what lessons we take into the future."
Opposition parties accused the government of failing to take responsibility.
"Apologise," Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said.
"I’m quite surprised today that the government hasn’t found it within themselves to just come out and apologise to the bereaved families."
The findings come after 181 people died from Covid-19 on Tuesday, taking the total to 137,944.
A further 38,520 cases of the virus have been reported.
Across 150 pages, the report – Lessons Learned to Date – covers a variety of failings and successes.
The greatest praise reserved for the government’s vaccination programme and its support behind the development of a number of vaccines, including the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab. A programme it said will ultimately help to save millions of lives in the UK and across the world.
An independent public inquiry into the handling of the pandemic is expected to begin in May next year.
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