Covid Inquiry: Michael Gove apologises for suffering caused by government 'mistakes'

Senior Tory Michael Gove has apologised for the suffering caused 'as a result of mistakes that were made by government' during the coronavirus pandemic. ITV News Political Correspondent Carl Dinnen reports

Michael Gove has apologised for the suffering caused by government "mistakes" during the coronavirus pandemic, describing politicians as "fallible" human beings who "make errors".

The senior Tory, who was Cabinet Office minister and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in early 2020, said he should take his "share of responsibility" for political decisions made.

Giving evidence to the Covid-19 Inquiry on Tuesday, Mr Gove said: "If I may… apologise to the victims who endured such pain, the families who endured so much loss as a result of the mistakes that were made by government in response to the pandemic. “As a minister responsible for the Cabinet Office, and was also close to many of the decisions that were made, I must take my share of responsibility for that. “Politicians are human beings. We’re fallible. We make mistakes and we make errors. I am sure that the inquiry will have an opportunity to look in detail at many of the errors I and others made.”

'Politicians are human beings. We're fallible. We make mistakes and we make errors' - Michael Gove apologises for government 'mistakes' during the pandemic

Responding to questions from Inquiry's lead counsel, Hugo Keith KC, the now levelling up secretary also expressed his "high opinion" of the former health secretary Matt Hancock, who has come under fierce criticism throughout the Inquiry so far.

Mr Gove suggested "too much was expected" from Mr Hancock's department in the early days of the pandemic, adding "many of the decisions that he made were right".

However, he admitted the government "should have acted earlier" in imposing the first lockdown in March 2020, acknowledging he should have been more "forthright".

The admission followed references to WhatsApp messages between Mr Gove and the PM's former Chief Adviser, Dominic Cummings, on March 4 2020.

In the messages, Mr Gove said: "You know me. I don't often kick off. But we are f***ing up as a Government and missing golden opportunities.' He later said the comments were about the issues within Cabinet Office as a whole - largely focusing on the response to coronavirus.

When asked if he regretted the approach, Mr Gove said: “Generally, people have always been unhappy when I’ve been more forthright in the past. “But, on this occasion, I should definitely have been more forthright.” Asked if this was because “it was a matter of life and death”, he added: “Absolutely, and that is why I believe I should have made the decision to implement the national lockdown.”

In a lengthy evidence session on Tuesday, Mr Gove defended the environment inside Number 10, which previous witnesses to the Inquiry have described as misogynistic and "toxic".

Questioned about WhatsApp messages by Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, describing Boris Johnson's team as "wild animals", Mr Gove admitted there were "strong personalities" in the former prime minister's Downing Street, but "you will always have - it's in the nature of politics - strong views, sometimes punchily expressed".

But Mr Gove, who has held a number of prominent roles in government, did admit that the Cabinet Office was “flawed” and not effective at dealing with crises. “The Cabinet Office in and of itself, over many years, has operated in a way which is not as effective as it should be for the effective delivery of government policy, both business as usual, and also in response to crises," he said. He added: " So, it becomes a sort of Mary Poppins bag into which different prime ministers will shove things that they believe require to be dealt with by the government’s nanny, as it were.”

Hugo Keith KC slapped Mr Gove down when he suggested there is a “significant body of judgment” to suggest Covid-19 was “man-made”. The Levelling Up Secretary went further than any Cabinet minister so far in questioning the origins of the virus, as he explained the challenges faced by the Government as the crisis unfolded in 2020. "There is a significant body of judgment that believes that the virus itself was man-made, and that presents challenges as well," Mr Gove said. He was quickly cut off by Hugo Keith KC, who said the “divisive” issue is not part of the inquiry’s terms of reference. “We’re not going to go there,” he said. Mr Gove replied that it is “important to recognise that the virus presented a series of new challenges that required … the science to adjust”.

Mr Gove's appearance comes as part of a highly anticipated week at the Covid Inquiry.

On Monday, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said "lives could have been saved" had the government acted earlier, while Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham criticised Westminster's "massively centralised" approach to dealing with the pandemic.

Former deputy chief medical officer Professor Dame Jenny Harries also appeared on Tuesday, while former Health Secretary Matt Hancock and ex-deputy prime minister Dominic Raab are scheduled to appear later this week. The inquiry is currently taking evidence as part of its second module on core UK decision-making and political governance.

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