This article first appeared on 26 March, 2021

The anniversary of Boris Johnson’s televised “lockdown” address to the nation has caused many to consider again the events of that life-changing week a year ago, along with everything that has befallen the world since. And Taylor Wimpey chief executive Pete Redfern is no exception.

In the face of unclear government advice, his business became – the morning after the address – the first national housebuilder to announce that it was shutting sites, a decision copied by nearly all of its rivals within a matter of days. A series of initiatives in the weeks that followed – on executive pay, supply chain payments, making public safe working protocols – meant the was seen as the de facto industry leader in terms of responding to this unprecedented national crisis.