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Boris Johnson faces a mammoth task to salvage his reputation as he finally appears before Covid inquiry this week.
The former prime minister is expected to apologise for “unquestionably” making mistakes in his government’s handling of the pandemic in two marathon evidence sessions on Wednesday and Thursday.
However, Mr Johnson is also set to argue that his controversial decisions ended up saving “tens if not hundreds of thousands of lives”.
It comes after an explosive two months at the inquiry, which heard Mr Johnson was “obsessed with older people accepting their fate” and dying from the virus; entrusted his top adviser Dominic Cummings with too much power; and wanted to “let the bodies pile high” to avoid imposing a second Covid lockdown.
The former PM was also referred to as the “trolley” for his chaotic decision-making by “pretty much everyone” during the pandemic, while he dubbed the Treasury the “pro-death squad” because it wanted to ease lockdown restrictions.
As we hear from the man in charge of the UK’s Covid response, I’m on hand to answer any of your questions about the former prime minister and the Covid inquiry.
Is Mr Johnson coming across well? How does his evidence play politically? And how is the timing of his appearance significant for the Tory party?
Also, what’s next for Boris – could he ever return to frontline politics?
And perhaps most importantly, what are the consequences of the inquiry for Mr Johnson and his former cabinet?
If you have a question for me, submit it now, or when I join you live at 1pm on Thursday 5 December for the “Ask Me Anything” event.
Register to submit your question in the comments box under this article. If you’re not already a member, click “sign up” in the comments section to leave your question. For a full guide on how to comment click here.
Don’t worry if you can’t see your question – they may be hidden until I join the conversation to answer them. Then join us live on this page at 1pm as I tackle as many questions as I can.
