Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock reject Cummings’ claims of lies and incompetence

Boris Johnson has rejected the central accusation made by his former adviser Dominic Cummings that his actions resulted in thousands more people dying of Covid than needed to.

The prime minister admitted that setting the trauma of lockdown against the horrors of Covid had been incredibly difficult, but he insisted that protecting life had governed all those decisions.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has also denied allegations made by Mr Cummings. He said it was not true that he lied about the delivery of covid policies.