In today’s news bulletin: The former prime minister tried to shape his legacy after hours of intense questioning. Pippa Crerar explains the key takeaways from her testimony
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Good morning.
Yesterday, for about six hours, Boris Johnson, despite everything, had the opportunity to protect his record in the face of the virulent denunciation directed at him by the Covid investigation since its publication in June 2022. Evidence provided to the inquiry revealed that senior officials in his administration had significant doubts about Johnson’s ability to lead and govern, creating a symbol of chaos, disorganization and disorder in an unprecedented global health crisis.
As expected after the leaks to the press, Johnson began by apologizing, saying he was sorry for the “pain, loss and suffering” caused by the pandemic and acknowledging that his government “may have made mistakes” that added to the pain. He took private responsibility for all decisions made by the government.
To some, the stakes in this investigation became immediately apparent when four grieving family members held up pieces of paper that read “the dead don’t hear their apologies,” as the former prime minister put it. The protests continued outdoors and in one of the pauses, some other user yelled “you’re a murderer” at Johnson.
To get a run-through of the main takeaways from yesterday’s session, I spoke to the Guardian’s political editor, Pippa Crerar. It’s right after the headlines.