THE PRIME Minister has again apologised to those who have lost relatives and friends during the coronavirus pandemic after being urged to explain why so many people have died.

Boris Johnson was challenged by Labour leader Keir Starmer to explain why more than 100,000 people in the UK had now passed away as a result of the pandemic.

The opposition leader said: “Yesterday we passed the tragic milestone of 100,000 Covid deaths in the United Kingdom. That is not just a statistic, behind every death is a grieving family – a mum, a dad, a sister, a brother, a friend, a colleague, a neighbour. 

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“The question on everyone’s lips this morning is why? The Prime Minister must have thought about that question a lot, so could he tell us why he thinks that the United Kingdom has ended up with a death toll of 100,000, the highest number in Europe?”

Mr Johnson responded that he “mourns every death in this pandemic” and said: “ We share the grief of all those who have been bereaved. And let him be in no doubt that I and the Government take full responsibility for all the actions that I have taken and that we have taken during this pandemic to fight this disease.”

Mr Johnson dismissed previous calls for an immediate inquiry into the pandemic to begin now, saying: “ Yes there will indeed be a time when we must learn the lessons of what has happened. I don’t think that moment is now when we are in the throes of fighting this wave of the new variant, when 37,000 people are struggling with Covid in our hospitals.”

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Ian Blackford, the SNP’s Westminster leader, also asked if the PM was still following the science, after Edinburgh University Professor Linda Bauld said there had been a “legacy of poor decisions” in handling the crisis.

The MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber said the Westminster Government’s response had been “defined by a lack of leadership, last-minute U-turns, mixed messaging and devastating policies.”

He added: “Since the start of this pandemic you’ve promised to always follow the advice of scientists. Well this morning scientists have said that this Government is responsible for a legacy of poor decisions during this pandemic. Does the PM still agree with the scientists?”

Mr Johnson replied: “We’ve throughout followed scientific advice and done everything we can to minimise disease and minimise suffering throughout the country… There are no easy solutions when you’re facing dilemmas as tragic as the ones being confronted by countries around the world.

“But I think that everywhere in the UK… can be proud of the efforts that are being made by the NHS, by the Army, by volunteers, by pharmacists to roll out the fastest vaccination in Europe. That is something the Government must do, can do, is doing, and will do.”

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Later Mr Johnson said that leaving the EU means that the UK will be able to strike a trade deal with the Us and remove punitive tariffs imposed by the country on Scotch whisky exports.

Asked by the Lib Dem MP Christine Jardine about the levies and why his government had not yet succeeded in getting the 25 per cent charge removed yet, Mr Johnson said: “ Well I know [Chancellor Rishi Sunak] habitually does things to support fantastic industries such as Scotch whisky, but one of the reasons for leaving the EU is that we will be able to do a free trade deal with the US and to obviate tariffs of the kind that [Ms Jardine] describes which would be there in perpetuity if the Scottish Nationalist Party were to get their way and to take Scotland back into the EU.”