Britain was ‘well down the table’ of countries with the highest Covid deaths, Boris Johnson says as he clashes with official inquiry KC who claimed the UK was second worst in Western Europe

Britain was “way down the league” of countries with the highest Covid deaths, Boris Johnson said today.

During the official inquiry, the ex-prime minister disputed a suggestion from counsel that the UK toll had been the second highest in western Europe.

In a testy exchange with Hugo Keith KC, Mr Johnson played down the idea that government decisions had led to a 'materially' higher number of deaths.

He pointed to an aging population and dense population as reasons why Britain was hit hard.

Comparisons of deaths between countries vary depending on the measure and time period used, but the ONS has previously suggested that Britain's toll throughout the pandemic was lower than that of some other developed countries.

Relatives held a vigil at the Covid investigation site as Mr Johnson gave evidence

Figures have suggested that many other countries experienced a higher number of deaths than Britain

Mr Johnson questioned the chief lawyer's statement that Britain was among the worst performing countries in Europe.

He said ONS figures showed Britain was 'well below the European rankings and well below the world rankings'.

Mr Keith replied that we are one of the worst off in Western Europe, if not the second worst off.

Pressed again on why Britain was experiencing such a high number of deaths, Mr Johnson said: 'Regardless of government action, we have an older population, an extremely older population.

'Unfortunately, we suffer from a lot of Covid-related comorbidities and we are a very, very densely populated country

“That didn't help.”

The clash came as Mr Johnson apologized to kick off an epic two-day discussion about the investigation.

The ex-prime minister said he wanted to express how “I am sorry for the pain, loss and suffering” of those affected by the pandemic.

Mr Johnson acknowledged that mistakes had been made in 'hindsight' and suggested the danger had been underestimated in the early stages because the latest crisis was 'beyond living memory'.

He said that in early February the government “did not yet believe” that the “reasonable worst case” of the virus sweeping Britain would materialise.

Mr Johnson said he was “really upset” when he saw the impact on Italy, where hospitals were overwhelmed. “We should have struck a lot sooner… I should have struck,” he said.

“Can I just say how pleased I am with this investigation and how sorry I am for the pain, loss and suffering of Covid victims,” Mr Johnson said.

In a testy chat with Hugo Keith KC, Mr Johnson played down the idea that government decisions had led to a 'materially' higher number of deaths

Mr Johnson took responsibility for a list of decisions including the speed of the Government's response to the 2020 pandemic, the timing of the lockdown, the explosion of the virus in the residential care sector, the Eat Out to Help Out scheme and the decision not to introduce measures. circuit breaker later in 2020.

“I take personal responsibility for all the decisions we have made,” he replied.

“In retrospect, it might be easy to see things we could have done differently, or to see things we could have done differently.

'At the time I felt and I know everyone else felt that we were doing our best to protect life and the NHS in very difficult circumstances.'

Mr Johnson said the only easy decision during the pandemic was rolling out the vaccines.

He told the inquiry: 'When it came to balancing the need to protect the public and the NHS with the damage caused by lockdowns, it was incredibly difficult.'