MICHAEL Gove has hit back at claims Boris Johnson missed key meetings in the run-up to the coronavirus outbreak, describing them as “grotesque” and insisted the Prime Minister’s leadership had been “inspirational”.

The Cabinet Office Minister’s intervention came after the UK Government was under fire following reports, which claimed Mr Johnson had missed five meetings of Whitehall’s emergency Cobra committee in the run-up to the outbreak in Britain.

Labour, the SNP and the Liberal Democrats demanded to know why Mr Johnson appeared to have been “missing in action” as the pandemic unfolded.

Controversy continues to rage over the lack of Personal Protective Equipment for NHS staff and low levels of testing as the disease took hold.

But Mr Gove told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday: "The idea the Prime Minister skipped meetings that were vital to our response to the coronavirus is grotesque. The Prime Minister took all the major decisions.

"Nobody can say that he wasn't throwing heart and soul into fighting this virus. His leadership has been clear. He's been inspirational at times."

The Cabinet minister later confirmed the PM had not attended five Cobra meetings in the run-up to the outbreak but stressed: “But then he wouldn't. Because most Cobra meetings don't have the Prime Minister attending them."

The Scot described the claims, which appeared in the Sunday Times, as “off-beam,” noting this was “Aberdonian understatement”.

The newspaper reported that one Government adviser was deeply critical of Mr Johnson, suggesting he lacked leadership in early March before Britain went into lockdown following the action of other European states to impose tight restrictions.

He said: “There’s no way you’re at war if your PM isn’t there. And what you learn about Boris was he didn’t chair any meetings. He liked his country breaks. He didn’t work weekends.

“It was like working for an old-fashioned chief executive in a local authority 20 years ago. There was a real sense he didn’t do urgent crisis planning.”

Opposition parties reacted with dismay to the claims.

Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth said: “There are serious questions about the Government’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak, which cannot be dismissed as ‘off beam’. The severity of this crisis has been clear for some time and the public will want to know why the Prime Minister skipped five Cobra meetings.

“Our frontline NHS staff don't have enough protective equipment to keep them safe, testing is not at the level needed, and hospitals have been delivered the wrong type of ventilators.

“None of us expects the impossible. But we need to understand what was going on and people deserve an explanation. These reports only reinforce the need for total transparency from ministers over their exit strategy plans, so they can learn from mistakes,” insisted the Shadow Health Secretary.

Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, described the claims in the Sunday Times of “complacency and negligence” about the Government’s immediate response to the outbreak as “jaw-dropping”.

"We have been working constructively during this health emergency and we will continue to do so, however no government is above scrutiny.

"There are a number of legitimate questions that need to be put to the UK Government around its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. When Parliament returns next week, the SNP will stand ready to hold this government to account and prioritise the protection of the public, frontline services and businesses," added the Highland MP.

Ed Davey, the acting leader of the Liberal Democrats, claimed Mr Gove's media round this morning further revealed a “government in crisis”.

He said: “It is becoming clearer day by day that this Government is failing to respond effectively to the spread of coronavirus.

"The fact that the damning report in the Sunday Times is only ‘slightly off beam,’ will further alarm many.”

Sir Ed went on: “The Government must be held accountable for their initial failure to take this virus seriously, especially when it's clear the issues the country is now facing, such as the dire lack of PPE, was raised by many, including ourselves, months ago.

"Today, the Liberal Democrats have put forward a support package that would help ensure our frontline workers get the protective equipment they need and properly recompense them for the risks they're taking. If the Government wish to try and reclaim some control of their response to coronavirus, I urge them to start by supporting our plan," he added.