The government missed a series of opportunities to lessen the impact of the coronavirus in February and March, it is being claimed.

According to an investigation by The Sunday Times, dire warnings were ignored from scientists - and the UK lost "a crucial five weeks in the fight to tackle the dangerous threat of coronavirus despite being in a perilously poor state of preparation for a pandemic".

Government whistleblowers, scientists and emergency planners have alleged there was a complacency at the heart of government in late January and February when it should have been urgently replenishing stockpiles.

Image: A pandemic simulation in 2016 concluded the UK had a lack of PPE, it is claimed

The newspaper says Boris Johnson missed five of the government's key COBRA meetings as the COVID-19 crisis gathered pace.

It also claims:


"Little progress" was made in obtaining emergency supplies of masks and gowns in February, with the UK actually sending 279,000 PPE items to China

The country's last rehearsal for a pandemic was in 2016, and recommendations from that exercise to address a lack of PPE and intensive care ventilators were never implemented

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The British Healthcare Trades Association was ready to help supply PPE in February, but its offer of help was only accepted on 1 April

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A Downing Street spokesman hit back at The Sunday Times report, saying: "Our response has ensured that the NHS has been given all the support it needs to ensure everyone requiring treatment has received it, as well as providing protection to businesses and reassurance to workers.

"The prime minister has been at the helm of the response to this, providing leadership during this hugely challenging period for the whole nation."

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The report comes as a delivery of 84 tonnes of desperately needed PPE for front line NHS staff was delayed.

The source of the delay is not yet known, but it is understood the RAF were ready to transport the equipment.

Image: Medical supplies and PPE have been delivered to the UK from Turkey before. File pic

On Saturday, it was confirmed that another 888 patients have died in UK hospitals after testing positive for coronavirus.

This takes the total number of fatalities to 15,464, the fifth highest in the world.

As Mr Johnson himself recovers from COVID-19 at Chequers, his government is coming under mounting pressure over the crisis.

Sir Keir Starmer, the new leader of the opposition, has shattered the fragile truce between Labour and the Conservatives.

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In a hard-hitting article for The Mail on Sunday, Sir Keir wrote: "The government was too slow to enter the lockdown. It has been too slow to increase the number of people being tested.

"It has been too slow in getting NHS staff the critical equipment they need to keep them safe. We need to make sure these mistakes are not repeated.

"And this week has exposed how the government has been too slow to respond to the growing emergency in our social care services."

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Sir Keir also called for the UK to follow other countries in beginning to set out a roadmap on how and when restrictions in certain sectors of the economy will be lifted "when the time is right".

He added: "This of course must be done in a careful, considered way with public health, scientific evidence and the safety of workers and families at its heart."

In fact, The Sunday Telegraph is reporting that Mr Johnson has already resumed giving directions to ministers in a series of phone calls, as well as a three-hour meeting with his stand-in Dominic Raab and key staff on Friday.