UK health minister says ex-PM aide's Covid-19 lies claim are untrue

London: British health minister Matt Hancock said on Thursday "unsubstantiated allegations" from the prime minister's former chief aide that he had lied to colleagues and the public about the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic were untrue.

Dominic Cummings, who was Prime Minister Boris Johnson's right hand man until late last year, delivered a withering attack on his former boss and Hancock during seven hours of testimony before a parliamentary committee on Wednesday, saying their ineptitude led to tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths. Johnson, Cummings said, was unfit for his role, while his greatest criticism was reserved for Hancock who he said had repeatedly lied to such an extent that the country's top civil servant lost confidence in his honesty.