David Cameron admitted during an evidence session at the UK Covid-19 inquiry on Monday that pandemic planning had focused too much on influenza while he was in office from 2010 to 2016.
But the former prime minister, the first politician to appear before the?public inquiry, rejected claims that his government’s austerity programme had undermined the ability of the NHS to respond to the health crisis.
“Much more time was spent on the dangers of pandemic flu rather than on potential pandemics of other more respiratory diseases — like Covid turned out to be,” he said. “I think this is so important because so many consequences follow from that.”