Former cabinet minister Lord Michael Gove has apologised on behalf of the then-government and Conservative Party for “mistakes made” during the coronavirus pandemic.

In her long-awaited report published on Thursday, Baroness Hallett said Boris Johnson, the prime minister at the time, oversaw a “toxic and chaotic” culture in No 10 during Covid.

Lord Gove told the BBC’s Today programme some “attitudes” in Downing Street had been “far from ideal” but added that in a crisis “the business of government can’t be carried out in the manner of a Jane Austen novel”.

He also said an earlier lockdown would have been “wiser” but questioned the report’s assertion that it would have meant fewer deaths.

Responding to the report, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the government would learn lessons from the report and was already “taking measures to make sure that, not just the NHS but the government as a whole, is prepared for any number of eventualities”.

The 800-page inquiry report said implementing a Covid lockdown a week earlier could have saved 23,000 lives in the first wave in England – although it does not suggest that the overall death toll would have been reduced.

It said lockdown could have been avoided if the government had introduced restrictions such as social distancing and isolating people with symptoms earlier.

The report described February 2020 as a “lost month” and said the government’s lack of urgency was “inexcusable”.