Professor Dame Sally Davies held back tears as she apologised to those who lost loved ones during the Covid outbreak.

England’s former chief medical officer (CMO) was giving evidence at the UK Covid-19 Inquiry on Tuesday 20 June when she recalled the “harrowing” cases of which she had been told.

“Maybe this is the moment to say how sorry I am to the relatives who lost their families,” Dame Sally said, close to tears.

“It wasn’t just the deaths, it was the way they died, it was horrible.”