The former government advisor has accused Boris Johnson of initially dismissing coronavirus as 'another scare story' and likening it to the 'swine flu'. Dominic Cummings claimed the prime minister had repeatedly said in respect of the first lockdown, 'I should have been the mayor of Jaws and kept the beaches open,' and confirmed reports that in October, Johnson said he would see 'bodies pile high' rather than order a third lockdown.

He also apologised for the mistakes the government made during the Covid-19 pandemic, conceding that he and his colleagues disastrously failed the British public.