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UK Covid report: BBC's Amol Rajan presses minister over response

The UK's failure to do more to stop Covid spreading early in the pandemic was one of the country's worst ever public health failures, according to a report by MPs.

The government approach - backed by its scientists - was to try to manage the situation and in effect achieve herd immunity by infection, it said. This led to a delay in introducing the first lockdown, costing thousands of lives.

Cabinet Minister Stephen Barclay was asked by Amol Rajan on the BBC's Today programme whether this response was right.

12 October 2021

Coronavirus lockdown measures

Stephen Barclay

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