Watch as Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance give evidence to Covid inquiry

Watch as Sir Patrick Vallance gives evidence to the UK’s Covid inquiry on Thursday 22 June.

He was expected to be questioned on why Britain’s pandemic plans were based on flu and the idea of building up herd immunity, rather than doing more to stop a virus from getting in or at least slowing its spread.

Vallance along with Professor Sir Chris Witty spoke after a number of high-profile political figures including David Cameron and Jeremy Hunt were quizzed earlier this week.

Sir Christopher Witty took the post of England’s chief medical officer in 2019, having previously worked within government for 10 years and Sir Patrick, meanwhile, served as the chief scientific adviser to the government from 2018 to 2023.

Both gave evidence during the first phase of the Covid inquiry, which is focused on the UK’s preparedness ahead of the pandemic.