Sadiq Khan has claimed “lives could have been saved” if he had not been snubbed by Boris Johnson in the early weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The London mayor said his requests to attend government Cobra meetings were repeatedly snubbed.
And he said he was left “winded” when he learned the full extent of the health impact the virus was having in the capital when he was eventually allowed to attend.
Appearing at the Covid inquiry this morning, Khan said he was initially told that if he was allowed to join the Cobra gatherings, other mayors would have had to be present as well.
But he said: “I was told that something in London was different because I was told the pandemic was having an impact on London ahead of the rest of the country.
“The government was aware of the challenges in [intensive care units], the challenges in our hospitals, and the government was aware of community transmission in London...so there was an argument for London to be treated differently at this particular time.”
Khan explained that he felt “confused” about why he could not attend, adding: “In this particular case, I can see no explanation at all why… the Greater London Authority, the mayor of London were not around the table.
“I think lives could have been saved if we were there earlier.”
He was finally invited to attend a Cobra meeting on March 16 2020, when he was told that the number of Covid ICU patients in London was “really serious”.
“I’d been kept in the dark as the elected mayor of London and I felt almost winded,” Khan said.
“I will never forget that feeling of lack of power, lack of influence, not knowing what was happening in our city.”
When asked what difference it would have made had he been involved in these meetings sooner, Khan said he would have lobbied the prime minister to go into lockdown sooner.
He said: “Had I been at earlier Cobras, I could have pointed out some of the reasons why community transmission was going to accelerate in London - but because I wasn’t present there those views weren’t heard or responded to.”