Boris Johnson Covid inquiry news special to air on Channel 4 tonight

As per the short synopsis: "As the former PM goes before the Covid inquiry, a Channel 4 News special has all the coverage."

The former prime minister is speaking at the UK Covid inquiry today, with the session set to be the first of two days of questioning, with Baroness Heather Hallett as the inquiry chair.

The inquiry will not lead to anyone being found guilty or innocent; the point of it is to find potential lessons that can be learned.

Today's questioning started with Johnson issuing an apology, saying: "Can I say that I understand the feelings of the victims and their families, and I am deeply sorry for the pain and the loss and the suffering of those victims and their families."

In this anticipated inquiry, Johnson will face questions over his handling of the events throughout 2020 and the resulting nationwide lockdowns.

Early on in proceedings, Johnson said: "Covid kept coming at us in wave after wave and it was very, very hard to fight it. People were doing their level best."

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In an earlier session at the inquiry, former health secretary Matt Hancock recalled phoning Johnson four times in January 2020 to discuss Covid-19.

In today's session, lead counsel Hugo Keith KC asked Johnson whether he remembered Hancock trying to "alert" him.

According to Sky News, Johnson said he doesn't remember all the conversations, but he does recall one on 7th January and he had said he would keep an eye on the matter.

Boris Johnson Covid Inquiry: Channel 4 News Special will air tonight on Channel 4 at 7pm.

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