Levelling up minister strongly denied work to leave EU hindered readiness for crisis at Covid inquiry
Michael Gove strongly denied planning for a no-deal Brexit weakened pandemic readiness and claimed it actually helped in evidence to the UK Covid-19 public inquiry.
Senior officials in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have previously told the investigation that as scores of civil servants were switched to planning for the UK to crash out of the EU, work to update and develop pandemic plans was sidelined.