Four people who were removed from Boris Johnson’s Covid-19 Inquiry hearing said they “didn’t want his apology”.

The former Prime Minister’s evidence was interrupted on Wednesday morning as he began an apology for the “suffering” during the pandemic.

Baroness Heather Hallett, chairwoman of the inquiry, ordered ushers to remove the women from the room.

They said they stood up as he began apologising to hold up signs that read: “The Dead can’t hear your apologies”.

Speaking outside Dorland House in west London, Kathryn Butcher, 59, told reporters afterwards: “We didn’t want his apology.

“When he tried to apologise we stood up. We didn’t block anybody. We were told to sit down.”

Fran Hall, 62, from Denham, Buckinghamshire, said that Baroness Hallett warned them that they would be asked to leave if they did not sit down.

“Lady Hallett warned us to sit down and we didn’t, we stood.

“She warned us that if we didn’t sit down she would have to ask the ushers to ask us to leave.”

Ms Hall said that she lost her 65-year-old husband, Steve Mead, to Covid-19 in October 2020.

She said her only regret was that their seats are now sitting empty inside the inquiry.

Ms Butcher, from London, said she lost her 56-year-old sister-in-law, Myrna Saunders, to Covid-19 in late March 2020.

She said that the former Prime Minister saw their signs.

“He looked around once when Lady Hallett told us to sit down,” she said.

“He looked at us quickly.

“He would have seen what the signs said.”