Delay and delay... then slam the lockdown brakes on. They made the same mistakes three times

BRITAIN'S top scientist has blasted the Government's repeated delays to use lockdowns to "get a grip" on Covid and halt its spread.

- MARTIN BAGOT

Dame Angela McLean told the Covid Inquiry ministers made the same mistake three times by waiting until the NHS was crumbling to act.

She said: "We waited until the last possible moment, delay and delay. Then we had to slam the brakes on as hard as possible, with all the social and economic costs."

The Government's Chief Scientific Adviser said using shorter "circuit-breaker" lockdowns earlier would have saved lives. And Dame Angela Sir Patrick Vallance's deputy during Covid, who succeeded him in February - told the inquiry the Cabinet ignored advice.