Boris Johnson urged a more "brutal, authoritarian attitude" toward those who refused to self-isolate during the pandemic.

Lord Patrick Vallance wrote that the instinct of policymakers was to support “punitive measures” rather than financial support, speaking with the Prime Minister throughout the crisis and appearing in a television briefing with him.

The diary entry written by Lord Vallance, then chief scientific adviser of Britain, during that time revealed that officials "always wish (Ed) to go, not carrots".

Lord Vallance said his diary entry was informal personal thinking and "late night contemplation" and had never been intended to be published.

He is providing evidence for the sixth part of the Covid enquiry, which is investigating testing, trace and quarantine policies.

During the 90-minute inquiry, he showed him a series of entries from a series of diaries starting in the first year of the pandemic.

On August 12, 2020, he wrote about meetings with the Prime Minister and his senior aides, including then-chief adviser Dominic Cummings and Cabinet Secretary Simon Case.

"The crew member's instinct is to take more enforcement and punishment measures," he wrote.

“We suggest that more carrots and incentives are needed to get people tested, self-segregated, etc., but they always want to choose sticks over carrots.”

When asked who he was referring to in the entry, Lord Vallance said it would be a “policy policymaker”.

In another entry on September 25, 2020, as the Covid case rose again, he quoted Boris Johnson as saying: "We need more punishment and we need more shutdowns."

In a further entry on January 7, 2021 (after the third national lockdown began), he wrote: "PM said: 'We are not cruel enough yet. We need to force more isolation. I favor a more authoritarian approach.'"

"Later of the day, the Prime Minister was not aware of the incentives (or eliminating depression) that needed to help people," he added.

On September 28, 2020, the ministers raised legal obligations for those who tested positive or to connect with England through testing and tracking services. It was announced that fines would be between £1,000 and £10,000 for repeat offenders.

£500 for lower incomes also provides £500 for testing support payments.

Sir Patrick said that the purpose of “remember” the mass testing is “it is important to identify potentially infected people who can self-isolate and “if the quarantine is not done, then the testing is not really what it should be done”.

Boris Johnson said the new rules were introduced that the public needs to “control the spread of the virus” and prevent the most vulnerable people from getting infected.

Earlier, Matt Hancock told the investigation that the UK should retain the ability to rapidly expand large-scale testing of new diseases in any future pandemic.

The former health minister said he was concerned that the testing system established in 2020 is now being removed, which makes it difficult to respond.

"The key thing is that as a country, we absolutely have to be prepared to fundamentally expand our capabilities once we develop tests," he said. "We're not last time."

On April 14, 2020, Mr. Hancock asked his Nobel Prize-winning scientists, Sir Paul and Sir Peter Ratcliff, a letter urging all healthcare workers to test the virus regularly.

In evidence last week, the nurse said the secretary of state had “ignored” his letter for three months before he received an “anal reaction” from another civil servant.

It was not until the summer of 2020 in England that nursing home staff were regularly tested, while NHS staff and other social care workers did not receive weekly tests until November of that year.

Mr Hancock said he hadn't read the letter in person, and by then the government had already formulated policies to deal with the spread of the virus in people without obvious symptoms.

"The suggestive argument is that somehow people who win the Nobel Prize know something, and we ignore it. It's not true. It's not what happened."