Boris Johnson came under fire as he returned to the Commons over a series of U-turns which have soured Conservative backbench opinion towards the Government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
He faced critics during his first Prime Minister’s Questions since Parliament’s summer recess began on July 22. Mr Johnson insisted his Government has not been blown off course by Covid-19, but acknowledged that "sometimes it is necessary" to change direction in "response to the facts as they change".
It comes as new figures show just over 57,300 deaths involving Covid-19 have now been registered in the UK. The ONS data shows that 52,217 deaths involving Covid-19 had occurred in England and Wales up to August 21, and had been registered by August 29.
Figures published last week showed that 4,222 deaths involving Covid-19 had been registered in Scotland up to August 23, while 871 deaths had occurred in Northern Ireland up to August 21, and had been registered up to August 26. Together, these figures mean that so far 57,310 deaths have been registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, including suspected cases.
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