LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says a public inquiry into the handling of the coronavirus pandemic will be held next year.

He told lawmakers Wednesday the inquiry will have wide-ranging statutory powers and the government has a responsibility to learn lessons from the pandemic. Johnson says the inquiry will begin its work next spring.

Families of those who have died during the pandemic have been asking Johnson to call an inquiry since last summer, but the prime minister consistently said the time wasn’t right.

The U.K. has recorded Europe’s highest coronavirus-related death toll, with more than 127,500 people dead. It’s the fifth-highest total in the world.