COLCHESTER’S MP has said closing schools during the Covid-19 pandemic was a mistake.

Will Quince said there are a number of decisions the Government made during the pandemic which “we wouldn’t do again”.

During his appearance on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, he added it is “highly unlikely” in the future Number 10 would consider closing schools.

“So, I think there are a number of things which we did during the pandemic, which was a once-in-100-years event, that we wouldn’t do again,” said the Colchester MP.

“And, in my view, one of those is closing schools. We wouldn’t be closing schools with the information we now have at the time. We were to some extent flying blind.

“We had to rely on the best available information at the time from scientists and medical experts and act in good faith.”

Mr Quince, now an education minister, added: “Would we do things differently now? Yes. Were mistakes made throughout the course of the pandemic? Yes, of course they were.

“But we’ve learned from that, and, as a result, I think it is highly unlikely that in the future we would consider closing schools, knowing what we now know about the impact that it had on young people.”