The Japan Times - Kids paid 'a huge price' for Covid measures: ex-UK PM Johnson

More than 230,000 people have died from Covid in the UK since the start of the global pandemic in early 2020.

As part of measures aimed at controlling the spread of the virus, Britain closed schools for long periods and moved to online learning as part of lockdown in both 2020 and 2021.

Speaking at the UK's independent public inquiry into the country's handling of the pandemic, Johnson said children's loss of education caused by the school closures was a "disaster" that he wished could have been avoided.

"It felt to me as though children who were not vulnerable, not particularly vulnerable to Covid, were paying a huge, huge price to protect the rest of society," he said.

"I think, looking back on it all, the whole lockdowns, the intricacy of the rules, the complexity, particularly for children, I think we probably did go too far, and it was far too elaborate," Johnson said, when asked about the limited provisions for children to "play" during periods of lockdown.

The former prime minister was also pressed on the decision not to hold events targeting children to explain the government's Covid measures, despite the frequent televised press conferences held for the general public.

"I certainly think it was a mistake ... for us not to find some way to interact more with children, particularly those who have been affected by the exams problems," he said.

Outside the London inquiry venue, a group of campaigners from the charity "Long Covid Kids" shouted "shame" as he got into his car.

"I think that on the whole children were an afterthought, there was no proactive thought process about the impact on children," said Londoner Harbinder Dhaliwal, who said her three children have suffered serious long-term health impacts.

"I would like an apology from the government, from Boris for how our children were overlooked."

Johnson was prime minister from July 2019 to September 2022.

The UK's inquiry examining the country's handling of Covid-19 is a huge, independent public inquiry chaired by a former Court of Appeal judge set up by Johnson when he was still prime minister.

UK public inquiries investigate matters of public concern, establishing facts about what happened and what lessons can be learnt.

They do not rule on civil or criminal liability, and their recommendations are not legally binding.

T.Kobayashi--JT