Updated
Tuesday, 26th January 2021, 6:29 pm
The Prime Minister insisted the Government “did everything that we could to minimise suffering and minimise loss of life in this country as a result of the pandemic”.
But he faced questions over why, when in April last year 20,000 deaths was described by the Government's chief science adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance as “a good outcome”, the grim figure now stood at five times this.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called the milestone a “national tragedy”.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a media briefing in Downing Street, London, on coronavirus (Covid-19). Photo: PA
He said: “We must never become numb to these numbers or treat them as just statistics. Every death is a loved one, a friend, a neighbour, a partner or a colleague. It is an empty chair at the dinner table.”