UK PM Rishi Sunak expresses deep regret for pandemic losses as he faces inquiry

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday apologised to the families who lost loved ones in the Covid-19 pandemic. He opened his evidence to an ongoing public inquiry in a tough week which will also see him tackle a feared revolt over a parliamentary vote on his Rwanda policy to deport illegal migrants.

The British Indian leader said he was “deeply sorry” about the lives lost. He also stressed that he wanted to give his evidence to the Covid inquiry in the spirit of “constructive candour” so that lessons can be learnt from when he was chancellor of the exchequer 2020-21.

At several points he also defended Boris Johnson’s decision-making pressures as prime minister at the time, saying he met his former boss even more than his wife Akshata Murty during the height of the first Covid lockdown period.