Boris Johnson didn’t think Covid was a ‘big deal’ in March 2020 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaking in 2020 during a media briefing in Downing Street, London, on coronavirus

Boris Johnson did not think coronavirus was a “big deal” as he focused on other concerns just weeks before the first lockdown in the UK,

Mr Johnson's then chief-adviser Dominic Cummings made that claim in a WhatsApp message at the time.