level best

He said he took "personal responsibility for all decisions made" but insisted that ministers had done their "level best" in difficult circumstances.

Blanche, doing his level best as a defense attorney, is trying to ward off the day of reckoning for Trump.

He said he took "personal responsibility for all decisions made", but insisted that ministers had done their "level best" in difficult circumstances.

The main point he wanted to get across was that ministers did their "level best" to respond to the virus, in difficult circumstances.

Mr Johnson insisted ministers did their "level best" in the circumstances and defended his record in office.