Boris thought Covid was 'scare story': What we learned from Dominic Cummings

Tensions were raging so high at the time of the eventual decision that Mr Johnson said he would rather see “bodies pile high” than impose a third lockdown, according to Mr Cummings, who said reports of the alleged comments by the BBC were “accurate”.

The British PM’s former aide Dominic Cummings gave evidence to MPs on a range of subjects on Wednesday (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)

Dominic Cummings gave a marathon seven-hour session of evidence to MPs about his time in No 10 as the pandemic approached and then raged across the UK.

Here is what we learned from the former adviser to the British Prime Minister: