Matt Hancock has said the NHS ran out of gowns and other protective equipment "within six to seven hours" during the coronavirus pandemic.

Former health minister testifies at hearing for third time Covid Inquiryon the impact on the healthcare system.

He said there had never been a "national shortage" of personal protective equipment for health workers, but "in some places they did run out - and that's bad".

Asked about reports that some nurses had to wear bin bags early in the coronavirus crisis, he said the NHS needed to "learn from the mistakes" and make "better stockpiles" for the future.

Mr Hancock, who was health secretary at the start of the outbreak in 2020, will give evidence over two days to the inquiry which will look into the impact of the outbreak on the NHS and healthcare in all four countries of the UK.

On Thursday, inquiry chair Baroness Hallett had to occasionally interrupt the hearing to tell family members in the public gallery - some of whom were visibly emotional - to lower photos of their deceased relatives.

Earlier, the former congressman faced intense questions about the squeeze on facilities that many hospitals suffered during the peak of the two worst waves of the coronavirus pandemic.

In March 2020, Mr Hancock said he was "flabbergasted" that newly announced lockdown rules might not be strict enough to avoid a repeat of the situation in northern Italy, where some Covid patients struggled to access any care.

But he added that while some hospitals in England were under "enormous pressure", the wider NHS system had never been overwhelmed.

Mr Hancock was then asked about Suzie Sullivan, who died of Covid-19 in 2020.

Medical records written at the time stated that Susie was not suitable for transfer to the intensive care unit because of her existing heart disease and Down syndrome. Her father John told an earlier inquest she was "left to die" because of her disability.

Mr Hancock admitted that at the height of the epidemic it would have been impossible to find a bed for every patient who needed intensive care.

"Of course there is tremendous pressure and of course there are consequences," he said.

He said sometimes staffing ratios had to be expanded, meaning specialist critical care nurses had to care for six patients instead of providing the usual one-on-one care.

But he added: "What we have managed to avoid is blanket rationing - that is, 'people are not going to be looked after based on these characteristics'."

“This is what will happen if we let the virus get more out of control.

"Were people getting the same good care as they normally would? Of course not. There was a pandemic," he told the inquiry.

Asked about the visitation restrictions in place, he said "overall" he believed the government was complying with the rules. About right”.

“For example, I think where we went wrong was in the way the funeral guidance was applied locally – it wasn’t as expected.”

Other witnesses, including the First Minister of Wales, Aruned MorganAnd former Scottish health secretary Jenny Freeman said some of the restrictions or the way they were implemented may have gone too far.

Mr Hancock also defended the government's "stay at home, save lives, protect the NHS" message, saying "the NHS will be overwhelmed if we don't stop the spread of the virus". "It's true."

England's chief medical officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, recently gave evidence that in hindsight the authorities had not succeeded in getting the public to know that the NHS remained open to non-Covid patients during the pandemic.

Mr Hancock mentioned he had to "ruffle some feathers" to protect the NHS from political interference.

He said he felt his job was to "protect" the health service from "people in Area 10".

He added that some interference by political appointees in Downing Street had caused "incredible difficulties" in the rollout of coronavirus testing.