Children will be damaged by Covid school closures later in life, the chairman of the health select committee has warned.

Layla Moran, the Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, said remote learning during the pandemic had highlighted a “stark” gap in pupils’ progress in the classroom.

Ms Moran made the comments during an episode of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, guest edited by Frank Cottrell-Boyce, the Children’s Laureate, about the importance of reading to children.

When asked whether her committee might consider taking on the issue