BORIS Johnson has admitted that his government did not understand the impact of Covid-19 during the "first few weeks and months" of the pandemic in the UK.
The PM told the BBC there were things ministers "could have done differently".
More than 45,000 people in the UK have died from coronavirus, government figures show, though the death toll including cases linked to the virus is thought to exceed 65,000.
Last week, Johnson promised an "independent" inquiry into the pandemic, but argued it is too soon to start one now.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson promises independent inquiry into coronavirus response
Throughout the crisis, ministers have spoken about being "guided" by the science, but some scientists insist an earlier shutdown would have saved lives.
Johnson has always said he made the "right decisions at the right time" but in an interview with BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg to mark the first anniversary of entering No 10, he said: "We didn't understand [coronavirus] in the way that we would have liked in the first few weeks and months.
"And I think, probably, the single thing that we didn't see at the beginning was the extent to which it was being transmitted asymptomatically from person to person."
The prime minister added: "I think it's fair to say that there are things that we need to learn about how we handled it in the early stages...There will be plenty of opportunities to learn the lessons of what happened."
The UK went into lockdown on March 23 but critics say this was too late and cost up to 25,000 lives.
Johnson said: "Maybe there were things we could have done differently, and of course there will be time to understand what exactly we could have done, or done differently."
He added that these were still "very open questions as far as [scientists] are concerned, and there will be a time, obviously, to consider all those issues".
"Maybe there were things we could have done differently"
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) July 24, 2020
PM Boris Johnson tells @bbclaurak there will be time to "understand what exactly" the government could have done to tackle coronavirushttps://t.co/KetdceFpo9 pic.twitter.com/jIsfElGjfp
READ MORE: UK’s late start to lockdown may have cost 25,000 lives
While all the countries in the UK initially had a “four nations” response to the virus, there has been divergence since
Nicola Sturgeon vowed not to be "pressured" by Westminster into "prematurely" easing any restrictions and her approval ratings have far exceeded Johnson's.
READ MORE: Brits overwhelmingly back Nicola Sturgeon's handling of virus over England
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