Image source, Getty Images

Counsel to the inquiry Clair Dobbin now turns to the summer of 2020.

She asks Johnson whether he recognised that assessments of GCSE and A Level students - whose grades were initially calculated by an algorithm - was "really damaging" to those children.

Johnson accepts that the idea of scrapping exams was "damaging" and must have been bitterly disappointing to students.

But, he insists it was "part of the package" and says "there was no way round it".

The former PM says Ofqual came up with the grading system, which "plainly let down a lot of kids", but adds that he takes responsibility for getting the wrong model for how to get a substitute for exams.

Dobbin though pushes Johnson on why he didn't develop a different strategy for England when the algorithm failed to deliver fair exam results for Scottish students earlier on in the year.

In the end, Johnson accepts, the solution was to scrap the algorithm.

• For context, in 2021, GCSEs and A-levels cancelled in England because of the pandemic were replaced by grades decided by teachers.

Image source, UK Covid-19 Inquiry

We're continuing to hear Johnson be asked about remarks Gavin Williamson - his education secretary at the time - has made about the then PM's leadership through Covid.

Inquiry counsel Dobbin says Williamson has criticised Johnson for announcing in May 2020 a return to schools, particularly because social distancing rules at the time made this near impossible.

But Johnson disputes this, saying his memory is that he announced a phased return to schools - something he adds Williamson had been negotiating with schools - and he repeatedly says his government did "what we said we would do".

Johnson says this was the "common sense" approach and tells Dobbin he can't understand why Williamson would have an issue with him, as PM, announcing what Williamson, as education secretary, was working to achieve.

Counsel Clair Dobbin now asks Johnson whether children were represented well in the decision to close schools.

Johnson reiterates that he had "a personal horror" of closing them, given it would "damage the life chances" of people who would find it hard to "bounce back and cope".

Johnson says it felt to him as if children were "paying a huge price to protect the rest of society".

Dobbin now moves over to some of the criticism levelled at Johnson by Gavin Williamson - the former education secretary - when he gave evidence to the inquiry last week.

Dobbin says that Williams criticised Johnson's "unilateral" 10 May announcement about reopening primary schools.

• For context: Williamson was informed on the 9 May 2020 that Johnson was planning to announce a phased reopening of schools the next day. Williamson called this "a promise he wouldn't be able to keep" and said "the prime minister understood that I didn't agree with his announcement because it was destined to fail"

Summarising Williams' evidence, she adds that Johnson supposedly damaged the work Williamson had done with schools, undermining previous discussions Williams had been having.

Johnson says he doesn't remember the details of that.

Image source, Getty Images

On behalf of the inquiry, Dobbin wants to know whether the Department for Education (DfE) was sufficiently part of the government's decision on contingency planning.

She asks Johnson if their absence contributed towards the issues.

Johnson strongly denies this, and says the DfE would have been involved in all relevant discussions.

Reiterating the absence of the DfE, Dobbin’s says they were not present in March 2020 and January 2021.

Johnson says he’s sorry, but he can’t comment on that because he doesn’t remember that. He says he expects a cabinet decision to “include everybody”.

Image source, UK Covid-19 Inquiry/PA Wire

Inquiry counsel Clair Dobbin now moves on to testimony from former Department for Education director general for schools, Sir John Cole.

Cole suggested that Gavin Williamson's evidence around the rushed closure of schools was an "extraordinary dereliction of duty".

Johnson rejects this characterisation, repeating his argument that he felt there had been "abundant" discussions about closing schools, which the department was aware of.

"I'm not inclined to accept the idea that people fell down gravely in their duty," Johnson adds. "When the facts changed they had to change policy and I had to change policy."

We're continuing to hear testimony from Boris Johnson at the Covid inquiry, which he launched in 2022. This is his second appearance before the inquiry - you can catch up on what he said last time here.

Image source, Getty Images

Rounding off this line of questioning - largely focusing on Johnson's confidence in the Department for Education (DfE's) plans for school closures - inquiry counsel Clair Dobbin asks the former PM if a document they're looking at today was the "sole basis" of his confidence.

Johnson responds by saying there were other meetings which contributed to him feeling such plans were being made.

Pivoting briefly to former education secretary Gavin Williamson's statement from last week, Dobbin asks Johnson if he agrees with Williamson that there was a "discombobulating sea change" between 16-17 March 2020. (Schools were shut across all four UK nations on 23 March 2020.)

Johnson repeats that he believed it was everyone's understanding closures were one way of containing the spread of Covid, and so a possibility.

He says the speed at which the disease was spreading meant these plans happened sooner than he, and others, would've liked - but, ultimately, it was felt there was no other choice.

Dobbin now asks Johnson whether he accepts that, because the consequences of closing schools were "so profound", it was particularly important that the government had plans in place for this outcome.

"Of course," Johnson says. He adds that there was documentation in place looking at how to respond to different scenarios, with guidance on things like remote learning.

Johnson tells the inquiry he understands the criticism that government should have planned for school closures and altered schools at an earlier stage, but says this would have required a "much greater state of knowledge about Covid and what was likely to happen".

He also points to "the speed at which the disease was progressing" made it harder to plan around.

Seeking a direct response from Johnson, Dobbins fires a series of questions at the former PM:

• Question: Does Johnson accept the possibility of school closures was being planned for in response to the pandemic from the very earliest stages of scientific advice?
• Johnson: Yes
• Question: Does Johnson accept that the implications of closing schools were enormous for almost every school age child in this country?
• Johnson: Yes
• Question: Does he accept a responsibility on government to "grasp the nettle" and think about what it needed to do if schools were going to close to most children?
• Johnson: “It looks to me as though that is exactly what the DfE was doing,” Johnson says reiterating they did their “best to remediate the damage and support pupils”

Image source, Getty Images

Dobbin now asks Johnson why proposals to keep schools open were asked for "at this late stage" - just before the decision was made to close them.

Johnson says it's "entirely understandable given the immensity of the decision".

She asks whether the fact that the questions were being asked "so late in the day" demonstrates that the failures of planning were "systematic failures", not just on the part of the Department for Education (DfE).

Johnson responds by saying he did not think the DfE was "as remiss" as she suggests, stating again that his impression was they'd "done a lot of work".

He adds that people responded "pretty heroically to the challenge".

He continues by saying the idea of questions being asked "late in the day" is a perspective only available in hindsight.

Nabiha Ahmed
Reporting from the inquiry

I'm now in the hearing room, with Johnson sitting a few feet in front of me.

On my right is the public gallery, which is noticeably more packed than last week when former education secretary Gavin Williamson gave evidence.

They're given a reminder to not heckle participants, and that emotional support is on standby in the room. I don't remember hearing this before Williamson spoke.

It's hard to read the facial expressions of some of the public here, as many of them are wearing surgical masks. What I can tell you is that they're watching Johnson like a hawk.

One person is looking at him with their arms folded across their chest, and a sigh escaping from their mouth as he continues answering questions.

Image source, UK Covid-19 Inquiry/PA Media

Johnson says he is "very proud" of teachers and schools and says he thinks they did "outstandingly well" in an "unbelievably difficult set of circumstances".

Dobbin next asks why, if Johnson accepts full responsibility for the government's response, a paper was only commissioned in mid-March outlining the options for keeping schools open?

Johnson responds that there was a "great acceleration" in scientists' understanding shortly before about where the country sat on the pandemic curve.

As a result, he says it became clear that "the spike is going up so fast", that school closures would inevitably have to become part of the immediate response package.

The former prime minister is pushed on the impact this had on school children, but he stresses that his teams were focused on delaying the peak of the pandemic.

Before this, he says: "We thought that the closure of schools - if it had be used at all - would be a measure of last resort."

Image source, Getty Images

Boris Johnson's being grilled on his decision-making around closing schools during the pandemic.

Here's a refresher on what was going on in schools between 2020 and 2021:

March 2020: First lockdown

All four nations announce school closures from 23 March - except for the children of essential workers and those deemed most vulnerable.

Summer 2020: Phased reopening

Pupils are phased back into schools over the summer. Exams are cancelled, including GCSEs, A-levels, National 5s and Highers.

September 2020: Back to school

Pupils are back in school with measures including bubbles - only spending time with one small group of people - and social distancing.

January 2021: Open and shut

In England, many schools open on 4 January, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces a third lockdown in England that same day. The next day, all schools and colleges close to most pupils with remote learning until February half term.

February - March 2021: Return

A phased reopening of schools across the nations begins in February and March.

Summer 2021: Exams cancelled (again)

For the second year in a row, exams are cancelled. Grades are decided by teachers based on a combination of mock exams, coursework and essays.

Johnson's still being pushed on the extent of planning his government did - or didn't - undertake in the event schools had to close due to the spread of Covid.

Pointing to another section of the former PM's witness statement - in which Johnson claims the government began planning for closures as soon as it was realised how serious the disease was - inquiry counsel Dobbin pushes Johnson to clarify how integral this was to his pandemic plans.

Asked about a document he was presented with at the time, which laid out the potential impact closures would have on vulnerable children - particularly those who couldn't access remote learning or relied on school meals - Johnson says he accepts these were tough decisions.

He also says he takes full responsibility for those decisions - and any mistakes made.

Image source, Getty Images

Boris Johnson continues his evidence. He is now asked whether he accepts there needed to be planning in place for the possible closing of schools, given the implications were "enormous".

"I believe there was such planning", Johnson responds. He tells the inquiry that, at the time, people didn't know the effect the disease might have on children. He adds that there were lots of unknowns, including how transmissible the disease was.

This made things "difficult to plan for", Johnson says, with events moving quickly.

Number 10's focus was on trying to avoid an "appalling public health crisis", he adds. He points to areas of focus at the time, including getting enough ventilators and PPE.

Johnson says it is important for the inquiry to remember that school closures were initially seen as "something put in place at the peak of the pandemic".

At that time, he didn't think the country was at that point, he adds.

Vanessa Clarke
Education reporter, reporting from the inquiry

Over the last few weeks, the inquiry has heard a lot of criticism about the fact that the plan to close schools was not written until the night before it was announced in March 2020.

Academy head Jon Coles called it “an extraordinary dereliction of duty” and former children’s commissioner Anne Longfield said the run-up to schools being locked down, “was quite chaotic” and that it “wasn’t clear who had responsibility for planning for children".

But when former education secretary Gavin Williamson was asked questions about this last week, he said government policy was to keep schools open and all the key decisions were being taken within Number 10.

Today, Boris Johnson said he thought the Department for Education would have picked up from discussions that were going on from February onwards that there was work to be done in this area, and it was “surprising” there was no plan ready.

Counsel Clair Dobbin says it seems like news to Johnson that there was an absence of planning for the closure of schools during the pandemic.

But Johnson denies this, saying to the best of his knowledge there was work going on behind the scenes to compensate for the loss of learning.

Clarifying when Boris was privy to these preparations, Dobbin asks her question again: was it not until March 2020 that there was a focus on closing schools?

“No I don’t accept that,” says Johnson.

Referencing Johnson's previous witness statement, Dobbin suggests the former prime minister is confirming that by 10 February 2020 it was apparent that school closures would be necessary.

He responds “yes” but documents he’s looked at recently seem to suggest early on advice from scientists was that closing schools wasn’t an effective tool of controlling the pandemic.

Something he says "clearly changed” as we got closer to the decision.

Counsel Clair Dobbin says Johnson might dispute that a request was not made, to which Johnson responds he isn't disputing it.

He says it was obvious there needed to be a consideration to close schools.

"I was very much hoping that we wouldn't have to close schools - I thought it was a nightmare idea," he says, but he was seeing other countries starting to do so.

Johnson says he is surprised that then-permanent secretary at the Department for Education didn't "feel it was necessary" to look at what contingency arrangements were there.

The chair, Baroness Hallett, chimes in - asking if he would expect the secretary to wait for a request to develop contingency plans. "Of course not," Johnson says.

He says his impression was that a "great deal of thought and care" had gone into these key questions.

Referring again to Slater's witness statement, Johnson says it "is surprising" that he wrote that he had no plan ready.

• As a reminder: In March 2020, the UK's 24,000 schools were closed for most children and remained that way - off and on - for months after

Image source, UK Covid-19 Inquiry

Johnson continues to respond to Gavin Williamson's testimony, where he sets out some of the plans that he says indicated at the time that work was going on around the possibility of school closures.

The former prime minister is then challenged on the fact that one document he references is dated 15 March 2023 - just a few days before schools were closed.

Johnson insists, though, that "work had been going on" to plan school closures from discussions he'd seen take place.

He's then presented with a witness statement from Jonathan Slater, then-permanent secretary to the Department for Education.

Image source, Covid inquiry

His note says that it would have been better if contingency arrangements had been made earlier on - and adds that the first request received to make plans was received from the government on the 17 March 2023.

Johnson agrees that the government was determined to keep educational settings open because of the possible detriment to young people.

But, he says that he would have hoped that the Department for Education would have picked up on the fact that work needed to be done to make preparations after discussions had been taking place through February.

Image source, Getty Images

Boris Johnson, the former prime minister of the UK, is sworn in and thanked for coming back to help the inquiry. (The last time he appeared at the inquiry was back in 2023.)

He says it's a pleasure, before counsel to the inquiry Clair Dobbin gets straight to it, asking Johnson what his reaction was to former Education Secretary Gavin Williamson's testimony - given to the inquiry last week.

Johnson says he read Williamson's statement with interest - but disagrees with the idea there was no planning for mass school closures.

If you look back at the sequence of events, Johnson tells the inquiry, it's "clear" the idea of closures were being discussed and planned for by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, external (Sage) group and his own cabinet.

A reminder: Former education secretary Gavin Williamson said just a day of planning went into school closures during Covid at the inquiry last week.

Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has taken his seat at the Covid inquiry and is about to be asked about the long-term effects the pandemic had on the physical and mental health of young people.

You can watch live at the top of the page, or you can follow along here where we'll bring you key lines from Johnson's testimony, as well as fresh analysis.