Boris Johnson admitted he'd have done "many things" differently during the pandemic, during a press conference to mark the first anniversary of the UK plunging into lockdown.
The Prime Minister that said the "biggest false assumption" during the pandemic was over asymptomatic transmission and said that no "previous government" had envisioned such a novel disease.
He told the Downing Street press conference: "In retrospect there are probably many things that we wish that we'd known and many things that we wish we'd done differently at the time, in retrospect, because we were fighting a novel disease under very different circumstances than any previous government had imagined.
"The single biggest false assumption that we made was about the potential for asymptomatic transmission and that did govern a lot of policy in the early days, or that misunderstanding about the reality of asymptomatic transmission certainly led to real problems that we then had to work very, very hard to make up ground."
Mr Johnson's admission came as people across the UK have taken part in a minute’s silence to remember Covid-19 victims after a terrible 12 months.
Mr Johnson said that "at the right moment” a permanent memorial to those who died from coronavirus will be built and the “whole period” will be commemorated.
MPs and peers in both Houses of Parliament and ministers in the devolved nations marked the anniversary at midday, while NHS and social care workers also joined the pause for reflection.
Cathedrals in Blackburn, Winchester, Gloucester and York also fell silent in honour of those who have died during the pandemic.
The Queen reflected on the “grief and loss felt by so many” as she paid tribute to the service of health and care workers in a message to St Bartholomew’s Hospital, where the Duke of Edinburgh had heart surgery.
Later on Tuesday the London Eye, Tate Britain, Blackpool Tower, the Scottish Parliament, Belfast City Hall and other buildings will be lit in yellow to mark the day.
The public are also being urged to stand on their doorsteps at 8pm with a candle or light.
The Prime Minister, who has offered his “sincere condolences to those who have lost loved ones”, observed the minute’s silence privately and will lead a No 10 press conference later.
It came on the day new figures from the Office for National Statistics showed a total of 149,117 people have had Covid-19 recorded on their death certificate since the pandemic began.
Earlier, Downing Street said Mr Johnson had reflected with Cabinet ministers on Tuesday on what had been “a very dark and difficult year” for the nation.
A No 10 spokesman said: “The PM said that we mourn all those we have lost and send our deepest sympathies to their families, friends and loved ones.
“The PM said the last year had also shown the great strengths of the British public, which had demonstrated such resilience and fortitude and had shown such willingness to work together for a common good.”
Labour leader Keir Starmer was among those who joined the minute’s silence to remember those who have lost their lives.
Earlier, he tweeted: “As we mark one year since our country entered the first lockdown, my thoughts are with all those who have lost loved ones since the pandemic began.”
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said her thoughts were with “everyone who continues to make heartbreaking sacrifices as we continue to navigate our way through this terrible ordeal, together”.
It came as Professor Chris Whitty warned that another surge in coronavirus cases is inevitable.
England’s chief medical officer said there would be “bumps and twists on the road”, possibly including the emergence of new variants and shortages in vaccine supplies.
Speaking at a public health conference organised by the Local Government Association and Association of Directors of Public Health, Prof Whitty said: “This is a sad day, really.
“The path from here on in does look better than the last year but there are going to be lots of bumps and twists on the road from here on in.
“There will definitely be another surge at some point, whether it’s before winter or in the next winter, we don’t know.
“Variants are going to cause problems, there will be stock-outs of vaccines and no doubt there will be multiple problems at a national level but also at a local level – school outbreaks, prison outbreaks, all the things that people are dealing with on a daily basis.”
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