Prime Minister Boris Johnson has rejected claims by his former chief aide that he botched Britain's coronavirus response and is unfit for office.

Johnson denies an allegation by Dominic Cummings that his government oversaw tens of thousands of needless deaths. The prime minister says, at every stage, we have been governed by a determination to protect life, to save life, according to AP.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock also hit back after Cummings singled him out for criticism in an excoriating attack on the government. Cummings accused Hancock of lying to the public, saying he should have been fired.