“The nature of our preparation was for a flu pandemic,” he told the inquiry.
But Mr Gove, who was chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster during the pandemic, extraordinarily went on to suggest the virus may have been man-made.
The veteran minister said: “It turned out that we were not as well prepared as we should have been, ideally.
“The nature of the fact the virus was novel … and this probably goes beyond the remit of the inquiry, but there is a significant body of judgment that believes the virus itself was man-made.
“And that presents a set of challenges as well.”
Mr Gove was reprimanded by the Covid inquiry’s lead counsel, Hugo Keith KC, who said it was not the place to discuss the matter.
He said: “It forms no part of the terms of reference of this inquiry Mr Gove, to address that somewhat divisive i
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Mr Gove was reprimanded by the Covid inquiry’s lead counsel, Hugo Keith KC, who said it was not the place to discuss the matter.
Mr Gove said it was important to reflect that the virus presented “a series of new challenges that required the science to adjust”.
Mr Gove is one of the most senior members of Boris Johnson’s cabinet to give evidence to the current module of the pandemic, which is examining decision-making at the heart of government.
He began his evidence by apologising to Covid victims and bereaved families for government “errors” during the pandemic, as he defended Mr Johnson’s Downing Street operation against claims of dysfunctionality.
The senior Tory, who was also Cabinet Office minister when the pandemic began in 2020, said he took some responsibility for the “mistakes” made at the top level of politics when the crisis unfolded.
He was questioned by lead counsel to the Covid-19 Inquiry Hugo Keith KC about WhatsApp messages by Cabinet Secretary Simon Case saying working with Mr Johnson’s team was like “taming wild animals”.
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