On 26 January 2021, the Prime Minister said he was sorry, "deeply sorry for every life that has been lost."

Did it have to be like this?

What follows is an in-depth look at the UK's handling of a pandemic that changed all our lives in ways unimaginable even just a year ago. What worked in our response? What didn't? How can we be better prepared next time?

We've created an   interactive timeline   of the key events and what was happening behind the scenes during the pandemic.

Sky News has examined the evidence too, matching up what we knew at the time with what we now know. Below you will find our COVID dossiers. Each is an in-depth look at how the pandemic was handled, and the lessons we might learn.