Coronavirus has been 'a disaster' for the UK, says PM Boris Johnson

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the coronavirus crisis had been a disaster for the United Kingdom but that it was not the right time for an inquiry into missteps.

"This has been a disaster," Johnson told Times Radio. "Let's not mince our words, I mean this has been an absolute nightmare for the country and the country has gone through a profound shock."

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He said, though, that this was not the right time for an inquiry in the handling of the crisis.

On his senior adviser Dominic Cummings, he said: "Dom is outstanding."

Johnson promised a "Rooseveltian" boost to public spending to help the country's economy recover from the coronavirus shock and said a return to austerity would be a mistake.

Johnson said he would double down on his plans to increase investment and said his government - which has already announced emergency spending and tax measures worth an estimated 133 billion pounds - would continue to help people and businesses.

"This is the moment for a Rooseveltian approach to the UK," Johnson told Times Radio on Monday.

Former US President Franklin D Roosevelt's "New Deal" programme, which included a raft of job-creating public works projects, helped the United States recover from the Great Depression.

"I do think the investment will pay off because this is a very, very dynamic, very productive economy," Johnson said, promising a platform that would encourage companies to invest in capital and in skills training.

Earlier on Monday, Britain's debt office said it plans to sell a record 275 billion pounds ($340 billion) of government debt between April and August to pay for the huge spending response to the coronavirus pandemic, more than double the amount sold in the whole previous financial year.