The UK’s failure to do more to stop Covid spreading early in the pandemic was one of the worst ever public health failures, a report by MPs says.

The government approach – backed by its scientists – was to try to manage the situation and in effect achieve herd immunity by infection, it said.

This led to a delay in introducing the first lockdown, costing lives.

But the report by a cross-party group said there had been successes too – in particular the vaccination programme.

It described the whole approach – from the research and development through to the rollout of the jabs – as “one of the most effective initiatives in UK history”.