Lessons from a Whitehall-run pandemic simulation exercise in 2016 were kept secret from local government, the UK Covid-19 Inquiry has heard.

The final report on the findings of Exercise Cygnus – a three-day dry run for a mass outbreak of killer flu – found the UK's preparedness and response was ‘not currently sufficient to cope with the extreme demands of a severe pandemic of the type that would have a nationwide impact across all sectors'.