In his witness statement to the official probe into the pandemic, the London mayor revealed his anger about being barred from high-level meetings until 16 March 2020.
Sadiq Khan was 'furious' about being blocked from attending Cobra meetings on the coronavirus crisis until just a week before lockdown, the Covid inquiry has been told.
They showed that one of then prime minister Boris Johnson's aides had argued that Mr Khan could not attend the meetings without invitations also being sent to other regional politicians - such as West Midlands mayor Andy Street or Greater Manchester's Andy Burnham. Other documents published by the Covid inquiry revealed how No10 staff had discussed Mr Khan's repeated requests to attend Cobra meetings on the growing crisis in early 2020
He also described how his request to attend a later Cobra meeting on 12 March was rebuffed without an explanation. 'I remember that the PM referred to the need for draconian measures and said the country would not have faced anything like it since the Second World War. On 9 March, Eddie Lister, who was No10 chief of staff, turned down the request and suggested Mr Khan and other mayors instead meet with then health secretary Matt Hancock.
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