Boris Johnson's former senior adviser says UK fell 'disastrously short' on Covid-19

The man who served as Boris Johnson's most senior adviser at the height of the coronavirus pandemic has apologized publicly for the UK government's response to the crisis, which he has said fell "disastrously short" of what the public should expect.

Dominic Cummings, who quit his post in Downing Street last November, told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday that "when the public needed us most the government failed. And I'd like to say to all the families of those who died unnecessarily that I am sorry." To date, more then 127,000 British citizens have died within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test. Throughout his evidence, Cummings appeared eager to paint himself as being alert to the seriousness of the pandemic in January 2020, long before many others in government were taking it seriously. He claimed his former colleagues "failed to see the smoke" when Asian countries, notably Taiwan, hit the "panic button" around the turn of the year.