LOADING ERROR LOADINGLONDON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson oversaw a toxic, chaotic and dithering response to the COVID pandemic, with a delay to locking the country down resulting in about 23,000 more deaths, a report by a public inquiry concluded on Thursday. ‘Toxic And Chaotic Culture’ In Government“There was a toxic and chaotic culture at the centre of the UK government during the pandemic,” the inquiry chair, former judge Heather Hallett, said in her report. Advertisement“Mr Johnson should have appreciated sooner that this was an emergency that required prime ministerial leadership to inject urgency into the response,” the report said. Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves Dorland House after giving evidence to the COVID inquiry in London on Oct. 21, 2025. A failure to act sooner again as cases rose later in the year also led to further national lockdowns, it added.
