Adam Goldsmith
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The Covid inquiry this morning heard from Boris Johnson for the final time as a mammoth morning session addressed the impact of the pandemic on children's education.

Here's a summary of what the former prime minister had to say over the course of nearly three hours of testimony.

• Johnson accepted that planning for the "nightmare idea" of closing schools as an immediate response to the virus should have begun sooner - but insisted that "work had been going on" to prepare for this
• Despite insisting school closures were a "last resort", our education editor writes that inquiry evidence makes clear the gaps in the government's preparation
• As a packed public gallery watched closely, Johnson insisted that there was "no way round" scrapping exams in summer 2020
• But, former students with a front row seat heard how the algorithmic determination of exam results that summer "plainly let down a lot of kids" - with Johnson conceding the move was ultimately "a disaster"
• Schools were able to reopen for only a day in January 2021, and Johnson backed plans for mass testing in schools to enable this, but said he lost the battle to a new Alpha variant
• The former PM also outlined the reasons why he failed to support a pandemic recovery plan - arguing that he backed investing on one-to-one tutoring instead as it offered the best value for money
• Asked about rules for social gatherings and the impact of lockdowns on children, Johnson admitted the government "probably did go too far" with a scheme that was "far too elaborate"

The inquiry is continuing this afternoon, with former permanent under-secretary at the Home Office Sir Matthew Rycroft giving evidence.

We won't be providing any further text updates, but you can watch live at the top of the page.

And you can read more on Johnson's questioning in our news story.

Branwen Jeffreys
Education editor

At the inquiry today, Boris Johnson defended the decision to close schools as necessary to keep Covid under control, while accepting the “awful” consequence for children.

The former prime minister’s testimony has confirmed that decisions were often made at the last minute, without everyone in the loop, causing tensions across government.

In one message from Boris Johnson after the A-level results fiasco of 2020, he suggested ministers at the Department for Education should be sacked.

This may have included both Gavin Williamson - the then-education secretary - and Nick Gibb who had been heavily involved in the decisions.

In the end it was the most senior civil servant who was made to walk the plank.

Nabiha Ahmed
Reporting from the inquiry

Those in the public gallery for the inquiry today were completely zoned into what the former prime minister was saying.

It was only after the hearing was over that the extent of their emotions became apparent.

I saw young people red in the face with tears, and parents angrily shouting at Boris Johnson as he swiftly left the building.

Chants of "shame on you" could be heard from those holding up placards at the exit.

Image source, PA Media

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has just finished giving evidence to the eighth module of the Covid inquiry, which is focused on children and young people.

Here's what we heard in the second half of today's session:

• Johnson said the government "probably did go too far" with lockdown rules and might have been able to find a way to exempt children

• He said he didn't think it was "unreasonable" to ask schools to test students for Covid-19 upon their return to face-to-face learning in January 2021, and that it was "worth it" to reopen schools
• The former prime minister also apologised to schools that reopened then, only to announce their closure the same day with a new lockdown
• But he stood by that decision, and that to close schools in March 2020, saying the predictions had he not done so were "really grim"

• Asked whether the government prioritised the economy above children - including with policies such as the Eat Out to Help Out scheme - Johnson said: "We had an economy that was really struggling"

You can take a look at what he said in this morning's first session in our earlier recap.

Nabiha Ahmed
Reporting from the inquiry

Image source, Nabiha Ahmed/BBC

Campaigners from various groups have formed a huddle outside the inquiry building, after Johnson finished answering questions.

These include those from Long Covid Kids - a support group for young people - and Clinically Vulnerable Families - which supports vulnerable and immunocompromised people, and those living in their households.

Image source, UK Covid-19 Inquiry

Just before the inquiry concluded, we heard a final question from the chair, Baroness Heather Hallett.

She asked whether it would make sense to create a new role in government - a children's minister - given a number of questions raised during this phase of the inquiry.

Johnson says he has given it a lot of thought but, on balance, he would keep the responsibility within the Department for Education.

Hallett points out that the responsibility for children crosses multiple government departments at the moment - for example, detained children are the responsibility of the Home Office.

Johnson says he is "not hostile to the idea" of a minister for children, but says the government needs to think hard before creating new roles and departments.

The inquiry concludes, and there are giggles in the room as Boris Johnson stands to leave his seat before the chair wraps up her remarks.

Johnson apologises and the chair assures him no offence is taken.

Stick with us here, and we'll unpick the former prime minister's three hours of testimony - the last time he'll contribute to the Covid inquiry.

Image source, PA Media

Boris Johnson is now taking a question from Kate Beattie on behalf of National Disabled People's Organisations.

She describes how, when school closures were announced on 18 March 2020, a Cobra meeting brief included actions on the children of key workers, but nothing further was decided on vulnerable children.

Beattie therefore asks whether the government should have taken action at this stage to support vulnerable and disabled children.

Johnson replies that he is sure the DfE was looking at the needs of vulnerable children, but there's some back and forth over whether a government document confirms this.

He accepts that the government could have done more, but rejects the argument that he ignored the interests of vulnerable children.

Image source, Getty Images

Now a question on the impact of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, which is being asked by Sam Jacobs on behalf of the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

• For context: In the scheme, diners received a state-backed 50% discount on meals and soft drinks in pubs and restaurants (up to £10 each) on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays around the UK during August 2020

He points out that risk budgeting meant if schools were to be prioritised, other areas of society may need to face restrictions.

Against this backdrop, was the Eat Out to Help Out scheme an example of the government failing to prioritise schools?

Johnson says his recollection is that it was "discussed with the scientific advisers", and that it was thought to be within the budget of risk.

"We had an economy that was really struggling," he says.

At the time, it was felt the scheme was reasonable to pursue, Johnson says.

"Would we question it in retrospect? Many have," he adds.

Image source, Getty Images

Steve Broach puts to Boris Johnson that the government wasn't clear on whether children playing outside was considered exercise - and if parents watching them could be exempt from isolation rules.

Johnson says he is "very sorry to hear that" and acknowledges that he knew some children didn’t have access to open space.

But, he adds, from his recollection there was nothing in place to stop children from playing outside.

Image source, Crown Copyright

Next is a question from Children's Rights Organisation representative Steve Broach.

He asks Johnson about the rules around social gatherings - for instance the rule of six, which prevented gatherings of people greater than this number.

Broach says children were not exempted from these rules, and asks whether the government merely saw children through the lens of virus transmission rather than rights-holding individuals.

Johnson responds that the complexity and wide-ranging nature of the rules and lockdowns demonstrates the government "probably did go too far".

"I think that looking back on it all, the whole lockdowns, the intricacy of the rules, the rule of six, the complexity, particularly for children, I think we probably did go too far and it was far too elaborate," he says.

"Maybe we could have found a way of exempting children."

He adds: "Hopefully this thing never happens again, but it we have to do anything like this again, I think we're really going to have to consider the whole NPI (non-pharmaceutical intervention) system, lockdowns, whether we want to go down that route at all, particularly whether we want to close schools.

"Because it really should be a measure of last resort in the budget of allowances that you speak of.

"It should be the very last one to be spent, to be used, and we've got to find better ways of doing this."

Nabiha Ahmed
Reporting from the inquiry

While the inquiry was breaking, I went outside the building to speak to 18-year-old Laith McAllister, who has been living with long Covid for four years.

He's part of a support group for young people called Long Covid Kids.

"It's very isolating and my own personal struggle... I keep it tucked away because it's hard to explain," he says while describing his health condition.

He tells me his friends don't fully understand the effects of long Covid, which left him bed-ridden for four months.

He originally wanted to have a career in music and drama, Laith says, but he's now unable to do so due to the effect long Covid has had on his memory.

"It's ruined childhoods and not understood well," he tells me. "I want to see Boris take accountability."

Image source, Crown Copyright

A change in direction now. Boris Johnson has just been asked about long Covid in children by Sarah Hannett, who is asking on behalf of Long Covid Kids and Long Covid Kids Scotland.

Hannett says Johnson was "advised about paediatric long Covid" in the summer of 2021, including that rates would rise. She says "no formal advice or guidance" was given by the government.

Johnson expresses his sympathies with sufferers of long Covid, but says he doesn't remember being advised about the impact in children.

He challenges a sentence in the document - "I'm confused by that sentence... I wonder whether it contains a mistake," he says.

Hannett asks whether the government should have shared details of the risks with parents. Johnson says the government should have done so if it had details, but again challenges the wording of the document.

Dobbin now says that Johnson seemed convinced that closing schools in March 2020 and January 2021 would save lives.

And the former prime minister stands by that, she notes. But given the given the detriments, suffering, damage and risk, was there another way of reducing the budget of risk, the counsel asks.

I don’t know the answer, and I cannot be certain, Johnson says.

But the predictions at the time, he says, were really grim.

Does Johnson accept, Dobbin asks, that the recovery package ultimately pursued fell below what was required?

"I see why he's saying that - I don't necessarily accept that," Johnson responds.

"Circumstances were very difficult, we had to maximise taxpayers' value and deliver the best we could for kids."

He adds that he had wanted Collins to produce "his wishlist" and that's what he produced.

"In my view, the parts that he mentions in that letter were too expensive and didn't have the same impact as some of the other proposals."

Dobbin says that, in a message, Johnson appeared to "shrug off" the Collins' episode.

Johnson says on the contrary, Collins was a "passionate educationalist" who had presented a project "with a big number attached to it".

He says he shares Collins's desire but was limited in his role and the need to be mindful of taxpayer value.

More now on the pandemic catch-up plan, which was headed up by Kevan Collins.

Johnson says that, after digging into the plan, he concluded it wasn't the best use of public money.

He says that direct, targeted teaching to try and help those who fell behind was a better use of public money.

Johnson acknowledges that Collins was doing the right thing by trying to get the maximum money for his plan, but that his job as prime minister was to sort out something practical.

Collins resigned in June 2021 over lack of funding. In his resignation letter, Dobbin points out, he said the recovery plan should combine academic support with the opportunity for students to re-familiarise themselves with sport and music.

In an ideal world, Johnson admits, the government would have been able to offer everything his recovery plan mentions.

But, the government was in a "very constrained fiscal position", Johnson explains.

"I had to look at what was genuinely going to provide value for money," he says.

So, instead, Johnson says he chose to spend millions on direct tutoring, where one-on-one coaching could be "massively beneficial" for children who might otherwise have missed out on these opportunities.

Image source, PA Media

Were the consequences of school closures worse than expected, counsel Clair Dobbin asks Johnson, to which Johnson replies, "yes".

She now moves on to the appointment of Kevan Collins, who proposed a recovery plan focusing on adding to the time children had in school.

One of the reasons Collins was keen for children to have time in school was for other enrichment activities, Dobbin points out.

In a statement, Collins said he kept in contact with Johnson to keep him updated on the plans.

Dobbin then asks Johnson if this was effectively to keep the former prime minister on board, which he confirms to the inquiry.

But, after a note in May 2021 outlining the costs, the plans were whittled down, which Johnson says was “not surprising” due to the expense.

It seems, counsel Clair Dobbin begins, that Boris Johnson can accept that school closures had the "most awful impact" on all children.

She asks if this is why he appointed Sir Kevan Collins as educational recovery commissioner, to which he replies, "yes".

Dobbin then presents him with testimony given to the inquiry by a parent whose son was expected to be scouted by a football team, but lockdown began shortly after he turned 15.

They said their son became increasingly depressed and they were alerted that he had threatened to take his own life after a few months. The family then sought private mental health care for him.

She says it is "extraordinary" for a family to find themselves in that situation, and that the impacts went beyond education.

Johnson says yes, they did - and this is one reason he was so reluctant to close schools. He recalls visiting children in Kent after schools had reopened, where a "significant number of kids" had been deeply affected.

"It was very difficult to remediate, and we did our best."

If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, you could speak to a health professional, or an organisation that offers support. Details of help available in many countries can be found at Befrienders Worldwide: www.befrienders.org, external.

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Image source, UK Covid-19 Inquiry

Dobbin observes that Gavin Williamson has been very critical of the decision to close schools on 4 January 2021.

She summarises his position as suggesting that the decision was made because the government had to be seen to be acting boldly, instead of because it would have any impact on the country's infection rate.

Johnson disagrees, explaining that reopening schools would have led to a delay in children contracting the virus before spreading it at home.

"We had to stop a second doubling of the wave," Johnson adds, when pushed on Williamson's argument that he had made a "panic decision".

The inquiry chair interjects, asking whether there was a direct causative link between closing schools and the country's infection rate on 4 January - or was it more of an effect on public perception?

"It was both," Johnson replies, adding that it was his understanding that schools could have a significant impact on the R-value (a measure of infection rate) across the country.

Vanessa Clarke
Education reporter, reporting from the inquiry

Image source, Getty Images

The inquiry has already heard about a huge effort to set up Covid testing in schools before January 2021 so they could stay open.

Susan Acland-Hood, the Permanent Secretary for the Department for Education, told the inquiry testing was set up in the vast majority of schools by 1 January 2021, and that the plan would have worked.

But a decision was made to close schools on 4 January - the same day students returned after the Christmas holidays.

Boris Johnson said this was a low moment, as he could see the cavalry coming over the hill in terms of vaccines.

He said he was sorry to teachers for all their efforts – but the plan was defeated by the Alpha wave – and it seemed like the only option was to close schools.