Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday admitted he had made mistakes and said he deeply regretted the loss of life during the COVID-19 pandemic, but could not say specifically what he could have done differently, Reuters and News reported. ro.

Boris Johnson, who served as prime minister for three years from 2019 to 2022, resigned last July after a series of scandals, including reports that he and other officials attended parties where alcohol was consumed in Downing Street in 2020 and 2021, when most people in the UK were forced to stay at home in isolation.

An inquiry launched by Britain’s parliament has already heard incriminating evidence about Johnson’s handling of the crisis, including his reluctance to declare a lockdown and his misunderstanding of data provided by scientists.

At one point, Johnson reportedly asked if hot air from a hair dryer aimed at his nose could kill the virus and offered to give him a COVID injection on television to calm public fears.

The former Tory leader faces two days of questioning in parliament in what is likely to be the most intense hearing ever into the official inquiry into why Britain has one of the world’s highest death tolls during the pandemic.

COVID-19 has killed more than 230,000 people in the UK and infected many millions more.

The former British prime minister admitted that he could have done things differently

Boris Johnson said he took personal responsibility for all the decisions he made and that he understood the public’s anger after an open inquiry led to evidence of government incompetence, disregard for rules and misogyny as the country faced its worst public health crisis. i over the past decades. .

“I can say that I understand the feelings of the victims and their families, and I am deeply sorry for the pain, loss and suffering of these victims and their families,” Johnson said.

“Were there things we could have done differently? Undeniably. But I would not be able to list them in the hierarchy right now,” said the ex-prime minister. Boris Johnson’s parliamentary hearing was interrupted by protesters who were warned and in some cases ordered to leave by the head of the inquiry.

Johnson arrived to appear before the commission of inquiry while it was still dark, more than three hours before the hearing began, avoiding the families of some of those who died from COVID-19 who wanted to take him in for questioning about reports of what he had said colleagues, who would rather see people die in large numbers than order another quarantine.

Aamer Anwar, a lawyer representing Scottish families affected by COVID, said Johnson fostered a “deadly culture of impunity and incompetence” and treated people like “toxic waste”.

Serious allegations against Boris Johnson

While Johnson has previously testified in parliament about his handling of the pandemic, the 12 hours of questioning over two days is expected to provide his most detailed public testimony yet about how he made decisions.

The inquiry heard evidence from the government’s former chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, who wrote in his diary in October 2020 that Johnson wanted to let the virus spread rather than order a new lockdown.

Other senior aides, including Dominic Cummings and Eddie Lister, claim Johnson also said “let the bodies pile up”.

Johnson, however, denied the comments.

Testimony in recent weeks has described how the former prime minister struggled to make decisions at key moments of the crisis, including when he had to impose restrictions on people’s movements.

In private messages obtained by the inquiry, Simon Case, Chancellor Johnson’s secretary at 10 Downing Street, said his boss was changing strategic direction on a daily basis and was unable to lead.