one of them is jeremy hunt. >> the national response to covid was like a football game with two very halves. the first half had serious errors. we could have avoided the lockdown but haven't got into the position where we had one, we should have locked down earlier. >> the first lab identified cases of covid-19 in the u.k. were recorded on the 31st of january, 2020. it was not until eight weeks later on the 23rdf march that the prime minister ordered england's national lockdown. here's professional near ferguson -- professor neil ferguson speaking about the consequences. >> had we introduced locked and measures earlier we would have reduced the death toll by at least half. >> the government delayed bringing in the first lockdown. the report says a cost lives. here is greg clark, the other committee chair behind today's findings. >> we thought there was widespread assumption that people would not obey lockdown measures for a long time. you had to delay imposing them until almost the last possible moment so they could have the longest ct. what we discovered in practice was people were

jeremy hunt under the mps heard _ sets of decisions.f decisions. jeremy hunt under the mps heard evidence from - sets of decisions. jeremy hunt under the mps heard evidence from mps i sets of decisions. jeremy hunt under| the mps heard evidence from mps no individuals at the heart of government at the start of the pandemic threats, including health secretary matt hancock, but perhaps the most famous evidence session was with the former adviser to the prime minister, dominic cummings. he has been speaking to reporters outside his north london home this morning and was asked whether he felt lessons had been learned. thea;r and was asked whether he felt lessons had been learned. they and others ut lessons had been learned. they and others put into _ lessons had been learned. they and others put into place _ lessons had been learned. they and others put into place work— lessons had been learned. they and others put into place work to - lessons had been learned. they and others put into place work to try - lessons had been learned. they and

and jeremy hunt, you were listening to that. kerkhove saying there, that a consequence of an understandable domestic desire to crack on with a booster program, the kind of opportunity cost of that is vaccines not going overseas, but crucially, not only do people potentially miss out on a vaccine, but you allow maybe new variants to develop and the whole thing, the whole pandemic to last even longer. well, she made a very powerful argument, but i think it's also l important to remember. what is actually happening on the nhs front line today. and they are incredibly worried about the risel in the number of daily cases. it is not the case that that is not feeding through into increased l hospital admissions. and you have a system that is under the most extraordinary pressure, i to the extent that doctorsl are talking about burnout, they're leaving. they're going part—time. and it's a really, - really serious situation. so i think, in that context, the government has got. a responsibility to do everything it can to suppress _ the gr

here is jeremy hunt again. we had the vaccine — here is jeremy hunt again.. we had the vaccine roll-out which - here is jeremy hunt again. we had the vaccine roll-out which we - the vaccine roll—out which we described _ the vaccine roll—out which we described as the most effective initiative — described as the most effective initiative in the history of use case — initiative in the history of use case science and public administration, the discovery of treatments which have set iti million — treatments which have set iti million lives around the world. in the fascinating thing in the thing that makes it very difficult to sum up that makes it very difficult to sum up in _ that makes it very difficult to sum up in one. — that makes it very difficult to sum up in one, clean sentence or instinct— up in one, clean sentence or instinct how we did is that was very often _ instinct how we did is that was very often the _ instinct how we did is that was very often the same people who were responsible for both sets of decisions. gn responsible for both sets of decisio

here to react, jeremy hunt.st organization they're not going to prevent terrorism from spreading in afghanistan shouldn't come as a surprise. it's interesting that the taliban isn't lying to us, they're basically saying there will be a rise in isis and al-qaida. how do we respond to that? >> first we have to acknowledge the insane position that we're in right now as a nation. i mean, we are basically hoping that one terrorist organization will stop another terrorist organization from being active in the region. i mean, this is crazy. how do we respond to that? we have to be strong, in the military we have to project strength. that's what our enemy understands, it's the only thing they understand, it's strength. the biden administration has weakened us in so many different ways. we have no leverage in tree john anymore p. it's -- in the region anymore. it's an embarrassing position the biden administration has put us in. we still by the way have almost 100 u.s. nationals that have not gotten out of the country ye

long—awaited committee and science and technology committee and the health committee and greg clark and jeremy hunt conducting an inquiry into the governments handling of the covid—i9 crisis and it is not the official inquiry for next spring or has been ongoing over recent months. a lot of expert witnesses and the findings are quite unsurprising to anyone who has been following the pandemic which is really quite damning and you can see that with the fact that many different papers of decided to go a slightly different angles and that's because there's so much in this report for them to sink their teeth into. and i think reading a news report that the have headline findings, it's surprising but the slowness with which the government acted and so, with lockdown, the report says if it had locked down a week earlier back in march 2020, the death toll in the first wave would have been half a 40,000 to 20,000. so that is absolutely huge. he looks at the failings of care homes and the fact that more people died in care homes the necessary and looking at the huge failings in the track and trace scheme and

i mean, jeremy hunt, one of the chairs of the committee was implicated in ignoring a previous pandemic response of the health secretary such a java. the 1st comment after the report was really said he hadn't even read the less than a $150.00 pages a report and we have to wait for the big inquiry. that's what the government is saying, what, what's the point of his report? well, i think it's very important because basically the government has tried to kick the inquiry into the long grass and is where it was hoping really this, it would have faded from memory by the time they get round to looking at it sometime next year. but this is a devastating report, and i think actually it's a credit to hunt this. he was chair of this because he, as you say, he did preside over a failure to act on the, in the exercise in 2016, which identified a lot of weaknesses. and it doesn't really avoid that. he brings out the major points about the lack of preparedness and the failure of non pharmaceutical interventions. you know, the lack of a lack of testing capacity. and the impact on social care with tens

i mean, jeremy hunt, one of the chairs or the committee was implicated in ignoring a previous pandemic response of the health secretary such a java. the 1st comment after the report was really said he hadn't even read the less than $150.00 pages reports. and we have to wait for the big inquiry, that's what the government is saying, what, what's the point of this report? well, i think it's very important because basically the government has tried to kick the inquiry into the long grass and is, i was hoping really this, it would have faded from memory by the time they get round to looking at it sometime next year. but this is a devastating report.

i mean, jeremy hunt, one of the chairs or the committee was implicated in ignoring a previous pandemic response of the health secretary such a java. the 1st comment after the report was really said he hadn't even read the less than $150.00 pages a report. and we have to wait for the big inquiry, that's what the government is saying, what, what's the point of this report? well, i think it's very important because basically the government has tried to kick the inquiry into the long grass and is, we're was hoping really those it would have faded from memory by the time they get round to looking at it sometime next year. but this is a devastating report, and i think actually it's a credit to hunt this. he was chair of this because he, as you say, he did preside over a failure to act on the m, the exercise in 2016, which identified a lot of weaknesses. and he doesn't really avoid that. he brings out the major points about the lack of preparedness and the failure of non pharmaceutical interventions. you know, the lack of a lack of testing capacity and the impact on social care with tens of t

like to claim there was some lit uplands ahead, but he couldn't say that at this stage. 0n gps, jeremy hunte welcomed some parts of package, but it wouldn't turn the tide and a recruitment drive was needed. find turn the tide and a recruitment drive was needed.— turn the tide and a recruitment drive was needed. and there was concerns about _ drive was needed. and there was concerns about pcr _ drive was needed. and there was concerns about pcr tests - drive was needed. and there was concerns about pcr tests in - drive was needed. and there was concerns about pcr tests in one | concerns about pcr tests in one area. ~ , �* concerns about pcr tests in one area. , �* . area. west berkshire council said the were area. west berkshire council said they were aware _ area. west berkshire council said they were aware of _ area. west berkshire council said they were aware of test - area. west berkshire council said they were aware of test giving i area. west berkshire council said i they were aware of test giving false negatives and they have urged people to get retested. it relates to one lab and that

this morning. _ jeremy hunt on the radio this morning, and it was being used in quite _ morning, and one says — quite a different way — because if one says anyone who gets involved in a group _ one says anyone who gets involved in a group starts to become less discriminating, then we can blame poor decisions on group process and group _ poor decisions on group process and group psychology rather than individuals. and i think one of the takeaways — individuals. and i think one of the takeaways from this morning was that no individuals are being blamed, instead _ no individuals are being blamed, instead it's group psychology being blamed _ instead it's group psychology being blamed. what worries me as a psychologist is that it is part of an anti- — psychologist is that it is part of an anti— collective bias that exists out there — an anti— collective bias that exists out there. there are groups that make _ out there. there are groups that make bad — out there. there are groups that make bad decisions, but there are other— make bad decisions, but there are other expeditions for it — you

jeremy hunt announced the trainin: of around. jeremy hunt announced the training of new _ around.ong time. yes, that is the second target in 2019 - known for a long time. yes, that is the second target in 2019 the - the second target in 2019 the government put in place, but the royal college of gps, the bma are saying the government missed an earlier target before that to also put in place more gp places. it's notjust put in place more gp places. it's not just about the number of put in place more gp places. it's notjust about the number of gps, it is about the complexity of the cases they are looking at. one of the criticisms is that because people are finding it more difficult to get are finding it more difficult to get a new treatment, they are arriving at gp surgeries instead and some cases are more in depth, they are longer, more complex, so it is not just about numbers, but the type of people going into a&e as well. gps orah rate people going into a&e as well. gps oprah rate -- _ people going into a&e as well. gps 0prah rate —— operate by their own rules, so is there room fo

you might have seen jeremy hunt, the former _ vaccine.hs? if someone has had their second jab five months ago, they should be able to get the booster? it�*s ago, they should be able to get the booster? �* , ' . ago, they should be able to get the booster? �* , , . ., ,, ., booster? it's difficult to know exactly when _ booster? it's difficult to know exactly when the _ booster? it's difficult to know exactly when the cut-off - booster? it's difficult to know i exactly when the cut-off should booster? it's difficult to know - exactly when the cut-off should be, exactly when the cut—off should be, but working with those who have had their vaccines longest ago is most togicat— their vaccines longest ago is most logical because we do know there is that decline over time. and i think, bear in _ that decline over time. and i think, bear in mind — that decline over time. and i think, bear in mind that these vaccines are fantastically effective at preventing serious disease, hospitalisation and death, and that they are _ hospitalisation and death

the chair of the health l select committee, jeremy hunt.that the vaccine roll—out was one of the biggest and most impressive achievements in british public administration in our lifetimes and i want to pay tribute to the government and to the vaccines ministerfor to the government and to the vaccines minister for what has to the government and to the vaccines ministerfor what has been achieved. but in truth at its peak in the spring we were jabbing 400,000 people a day, now it is less than 200,000 people a day. and if you look at the higher hospitalisations, cases and death rates compared to countries like france and germany, the heart of it is not actually things like mask wearing and covid passports, it is there a higher vaccine immunity. so, i want to ask the minister two questions. firstly, this decision that has been made that you can't have your boosterjab until six months after you had your second jab, how hard and fast should that rule be? does it really matter when it is only nine weeks till the christmas holidays if someone has th