Watch as George Osborne gives evidence to Covid-19 inquiry

Watch live as George Osborne gives evidence to the Covid inquiry on Tuesday, 20 June.

The former chancellor must be “taken to task” over austerity-era cuts that left the country “so unprepared” for the pandemic, according to a doctor’s union.

An inquiry is examining how ready the UK was for the pandemic, meaning economic policies in the years leading up to the first outbreak will be considered.

Sir Oliver Letwin, who was a Cabinet Office minister from 2010 to 2016 and in charge of resilience under Mr Cameron, will also give evidence today.

The British Medical Association (BMA) said Mr Osborne and his former boss David Cameron should be questioned this week about the “parlous state” the NHS was left in due to a decade of spending cuts.

The former prime minister told the inquiry it was a “mistake” for his government to focus too heavily on preparations for combating a wave of flu rather than a coronavirus-like pandemic.

“That’s where I keep coming back to is, so much time was spent on a pandemic influenza and that was seen as the greatest danger,” he added.

Mr Cameron denied that his government’s austerity cuts damaged the UK’s ability to respond to the pandemic.