Boris Johnson will reportedly tell the COVID inquiry that he "unquestionably made mistakes" during the pandemic, but his decisions helped save tens of thousands of lives.
The former prime minister is due to give evidence next week - and according to The Times, he will issue an "unreserved apology" and admit his government was "initially far too complacent" about the threats posed by the virus.
He is also set to back Matt Hancock who has been severely criticised by senior civil servants, saying the former health secretary was doing "a good job in very difficult circumstances", the paper reports.
The inquiry heard last month that former head of the civil service Mark Sedwill wanted Mr Hancock removed because of questions over his honesty.
Deputy cabinet secretary Helen MacNamara told the inquiry he had "nuclear levels" of confidence and "regularly" told colleagues in Downing Street things "they later discovered weren't true".
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Mr Johnson is expected to express regret for boasting about shaking hands with patients on a coronavirus ward and defend the timings of the UK's three lockdowns.
He is set to argue that failing to act would have caused thousands more "miserable and unnecessary deaths - some of them in hospital car parks and corridors".
Last month, England's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty told the inquiry that he believes the first lockdown in March 2020 came "a bit too late".
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But The Times is reporting that Mr Johnson will claim Prof Whitty was "instrumental in arguing for a delay" - and the possibility of a lockdown was first discussed three weeks before it was enforced.
The ex-PM is also expected to deny saying that he had a "let it rip" attitude towards COVID, with a view to achieving herd immunity.
A source close to Mr Johnson told the Daily Telegraph that the ex-PM will argue that the UK was in a unique position because of its high obesity rates.
"As a nation, we are fatter, less fit, there's lots of factors in our public health that are just facts which made the UK very different from other comparable democracies," the source said.
Will the Comeback Kid's plan work?
Business and economics correspondent
@gurpreetnarwan
Boris Johnson has found his way back into the public's good books before and if his hopes of a political comeback are still alive, the coming week could be a decisive moment.
The former prime minister has spent many hours with barristers, studying 6,000 pages of material to put together a testimony that reflects favourably on his leadership during the pandemic.
That strategy is two-pronged. On the one hand, he will wholeheartedly apologise for his mistakes - perhaps realising that some of his former colleagues have come off badly after failing to show contrition.
However, the mea culpa will only go so far.
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