David Cameron tells Covid Inquiry his government spent more time ‘on pandemic flu’
George Osborne is due to give evidence to the Covid inquiry today after a doctor’s union said the former chancellor must be “taken to task” over austerity-era decisions that “left us so unprepared” for the pandemic.
In a statement read to the inquiry, Mr Osborne argued that the approach taken following the 2008 financial crisis “had a material and positive effect on the UK’s ability to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic”.
It comes after David Cameron said he is “desperately sorry” for the loss of life during the pandemic on Monday.
Mr Cameron has been accused of an “appalling” failure to properly prepare the UK for the Covid pandemic.
The former prime minister also told the UK Covid-19 Inquiry “a lot of things would have followed” if the assumptions on pandemic planning had been challenged.
The former prime minister is set to answer questions at the inquiry about how austerity impacted the UK’s ability to deal with the virus.
