Pandemic Planning Woefully Deficient'

Sir Chris Whitty also tells Covid Inquiry ot PM’s distinct style’

- CHRISTIAN CALGIE

BORIS Johnson made decisions in a "unique" way during the pandemic, Sir Chris Whitty said yesterday.

England's Chief Medical Officer refused to be drawn into personal criticism of the then Prime Minister as he gave evidence at the Covid-19 inquiry.

Sir Chris acknowledged that action ought to have been taken earlier against the spread of the virus. He said UK pandemic plans before it struck were "not particularly helpful" and would have been "woefully deficient", even for a global flu outbreak.

But he argued many other governments' handling of the crisis was "chaotic" too. Sir Chris denied a feud with ex-chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance over whether restrictions should have been brought in earlier.

He told the inquiry that there was a "very small" difference between the pair in early 2020 and said he was more concerned about the knock-on effects of measures implemented to curb the spread of coronavirus.