Michael Gove has apologised for arguing tighter restrictions were needed over Christmas to curb the spread of Covid.
The levelling up secretary claimed he had made a “mistake” by attempting to persuade the Prime Minister to enforce tighter measures amid the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.
Mr Gove was reportedly among a small group of cabinet ministers – including health secretary Sajid Javid – pushing for further restrictions in December.
At the time, he admitted to being “deeply concerned” by the spread of Omicron after worst-case scenarios modelled by scientists suggested it could spark a wave of hospitalisations which could overwhelm the NHS.
Speaking to TalkRadio’s Julia Hartley-Brewer, Mr Gove said: “In Cabinet, I was concerned that we may need additional restrictions and argued for them. I was wrong, while the Prime Minister and Chancellor were right.
“At Cabinet a couple of weeks ago I said that I was wrong, they were right and that I had made a mistake.”
However, he denied Ms Hartley-Brewer’s claim “all modelling” by scientists throughout the pandemic had been incorrect.
He added: “Lots of people make mistakes when you are dealing with a fast-moving situation like the Covid pandemic. I think there were other occasions where the government did things absolutely right and that I also thought were right.”
Boris Johnson resisted introducing further restrictions to curb the spread of Omicron as cases surpassed the 100,000 mark last month.
It marked a departure from the decisions made by Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon who opted to close nightclubs over the New Year to curb a rise in cases.
Instead, the Government introduced Plan B measures - including working from home and vaccine certification - which were lifted last week.
The number of Covid patients being admitted to UK hospitals has been on a steady decline in the past fortnight.
A total of 1,472 patients were admitted on January 28 - down from 1,919 on January 14.
