Children paid 'huge price' in Covid pandemic, Johnson tells inquiry

"The former prime minister repeated an apology made previously for things the government got wrong, but said he was proud of what teachers and schools did to cope with the "unbelievably difficult" circumstances. He pushed back on earlier suggestions that there had been no plans in place for closing schools in early 2020, saying he had assumed a "great deal of thought and care" was already going into those decisions by then."

"Johnson told the inquiry on Tuesday that he accepted the criticism around the lack of planning, but added that making changes to schools would have required a "much greater state of knowledge about Covid and what was likely to happen". "The speed at which the disease was progressing" made it harder to plan around, he added, saying the key focus was on trying to avoid an "appalling public health crisis"."

"Former education secretary Gavin Williamson gave his own evidence to the inquiry last week, in which he said the government had made an error in "sticking to the plan" of trying to keep schools open in March 2020. The inquiry was told a plan was only made on 17 March 2020 - the day before an announcement that schools were closing. Last week, Williamson was confronted with an expletive-laden message he had sent to the then-prime minister in February 2021, in which he said he had taken "abuse" for the government's decision to shut schools one day after they reopened."

Children paid a huge price to protect others during the Covid pandemic. An apology was issued for government errors, while pride was expressed in teachers and schools coping with unbelievably difficult circumstances. Planning for school closures in early 2020 was limited, with a plan reportedly only made on 17 March 2020, the day before closures were announced. Efforts were made to keep schools open, and closing them was described as a nightmare idea and personal horror. Rapid disease progression and limited knowledge about Covid complicated planning. Disagreements occurred between senior officials, including conflict over 2021 closures and an expletive-laden message about 'abuse'.

Read at www.bbc.com