The battle over Covid was lost in Boris’s Eton mess of an education

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Crises cannot be put on hold while our leaders receive ‘catch-up’ lessons (Getty)

Listening to the testimony given to the Covid inquiry during the week has raised profound concerns about the ability of our country to deal with such crises. To hear Patrick Vallance and Chris Whitty describing their attempts to brief the then prime minister was disturbing, to put it mildly.

Explaining exponential growth, viral mutation, and the human immune response to a person who “gave up science at 15” would challenge even the most imaginative teacher.

In my mind, I pictured a scene similar to that in the TV series Father Ted, where Ted attempts to explain to Dougal why the cows in the field appear small because they are far away.