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Now is "not the time" to ask if the government was too slow to act over coronavirus, Keir Starmer has said.

The new Labour leader said Tory ministers will face "difficult questions" in the future about how fast the UK implemented a nationwide lockdown.

Sir Keir has slammed shortages of protective equipment. But overall he said for now, the focus must be on helping the government "get this right". He added: "Now is not the time for those.

"The national effort has to be about reducing those numbers and, as I say, that’s about increasing the capacity of the NHS, it’s about social distancing and following the government’s guidance. That’s what we all have to be focused on."

It comes despite 57% of people telling a new poll that the government did not act fast enough to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

(Image: Cambridge News)

In the poll of 2,005 people by Opinium, just 8% said the government definitely acted fast enough and 26% said it probably did.

By comparison, 34% said it probably did not act fast enough and 23% said it definitely did not.

Despite the damning verdict, the same poll also found 60% of respondents approve of the government's handling of the crisis overall so far. 13% somewhat disapprove and 9% strongly disapprove.

Questions have been raised over whether lockdown could have been announced earlier than March 23 to save thousands of lives.

Social gatherings were only banned after thousands attended mass events including the Cheltenham horse racing festival.

(Image: PA)

Government advisors initially said "herd immunity" with the majority infected could help protect the population in the future.

But scientific advice later said only slowing the spread of Covid-19, not trying to suppress it completely, could lead to 250,000 deaths.

The government has also faced criticism over the speed of testing. Sir Jeremy Farrar of the Wellcome Trust today said the UK will "inevitably" learn lessons from Germany, which tested faster.

Business Secretary Alok Sharma was asked today by Sky News if the UK acted too late.

He replied: "We have followed, Sophy, the scientific and medical advice and we continue to do that.

"There is a debate at the moment I know that’s taking place around when the current measures that we’ve put in place - telling people to stay at home will come to an end.

"We’ve been very clear on this, we are led by the scientific advice."

Presenter Sophy Ridge asked Mr Sharma: "Will you admit that the original strategy changed and as a result, lives may have been lost?"

He did not answer the question directly, instead saying: "I am extremely sorry for the loss of any life that has taken place through this global pandemic and of course my thoughts are very much with the families and loved ones of those who have lost their lives.

"The key thing now is to make sure that people follow the guidance, they stay at home, they protect the NHS and ultimately, it is about saving lives so we are following the scientific and health advice that we're getting".

Asked repeatedly he replied: "We can have a discussion around the timeline of all of this.

"But I think right now what people want to see is that the government is acting on the medical advice."

(Image: Sky)

Labour leader Sir Keir called for Parliament to be recalled to examine the coronavirus crisis and said there would come a time for difficult questions.

He also defended raising criticism over the lack of protective equipment for NHS staff after Tory MPs accused him of playing politics.

Sir Keir said: “I want the government to get this right. I want to support the government to get this right.

"But we need to point out the difference between what they’re saying and the position on the front line so that it can be fixed.

“Key workers on the front line are taking risks and they’re entitled to the protection that they need.”

He said criticism would be “not just to score a point, but to say what can we do to put this right.”

New Shadow Foreign Secretary Lisa Nandy also said hard questions should come later.

Ms Nandy, who a month ago branded the government's response a "shambles", raised a string of issues but told the BBC: "All of these things are questions for later.

"They're important questions, Labour is determined that we answer them, but at the moment we're really focused on supporting the government in order to get through this."

(Image: PA)

Sir Keir added the critical question is the exit strategy from lockdown.

He told Sky: "We know pretty well that a vaccine won’t be ready for 12 months or so.

"If the figures start to go down what will happen in the next 12 months.

"That’s why I have asked for Parliament to be recalled, that’s why I’ve asked for the government to tell us what the exit strategy is because we need to know in that 12 months what is going to happen.

"There are various possibilities but the government needs to set out its exit strategy because it needs to plan for those 12 months, it needs to do that planning now and it needs to be open about it."