The UK saw one of the biggest jumps in deaths of any European country - and one of the worst in the world - during the Covid pandemic, startling new analysis shows.
Between March 2020 and February 2023, the number of people dying from all causes was 5% higher than in the years before the Covid crisis struck.
And in the first 12 months of the pandemic this figure was even higher, with official data showing it was 15% above the normal rate.
