Covid inquiry live: Top female civil servant responds to Dominic Cummings’ foul-mouthed WhatsApps

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Covid inquiry roundup: Lee Cain and Dominic Cummings provide worrying insight into No 10

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Dominic Cummings has apologised for the language used in a series of foul-mouthed messages criticising members of the government but denied misogyny over a sexist rant against a civil servant.

Boris Johnson’s former chief of staff was shown a host of sweary WhatsApps at the Covid inquiry on Tuesday, in which he called his former colleagues “useless f***pigs, morons and c***s” during the pandemic.

He apologised for his disparaging language but defended the criticism more generally, saying he was reflecting “a widespread view” that senior politicians were “dealing with this crisis extremely badly.”

To audible gasps in the press annex, one message was read out in which Mr Cummings called former top civil servant Helen MacNamara a “c***” and said he would “handcuff her and escort her” from Downing Street. However, he denied misogyny.

It was also revealed that Boris Johnson hit out at suggestions his wife Carrie was leading lockdown policy as “cr**” in a message to Mr Cummings.

Giving evidence earlier on Tuesday morning, Lee Cain, Mr Johnson’s former communications chief, said the pandemic was the “wrong crisis for this prime minister’s skill set”.

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Cummings is a ‘dysfunctional psychopath’, says former No 10 comms chief

A former No 10 communications chief has described Dominic Cummings as a “dysfunctional psychopath” who actively sought to undermine Boris Johnson.

Guto Harri, who briefly served as Johnson’s director of communications during the dying days of his premiership, said he was shocked to see the extent to which his old boss had been criticised by some his top advisers.

Referring to WhatsApp messages between Lee Cain and Dominic Cummings shown to the Covid inquiry on Tuesday, Harri accused the pair of being engaged in an “ongoing, almost adolescent…WhatsApp rant” against the former PM.

More comments below:

Matt Mathers1 November 2023 09:551698831902

Evidence to inquiry ‘clear evidence of scandalously bad government’ – former health sec

Testimony given to the Covid inquiry this week is “clear evidence of scandalously bad government”, a former health secretary has said.

Stephen Dorrell, the Tory health secretary from 1995 to 1997, said the sessions showed there was a need to reestablish distance between politicians and civil servants.

“I can think of no circumstance in which it’s appropriate for senior civil servants to engage in political gossip on WhatsApp with whom people they are supposed to be accountable,” he said.

Watch a clip of Dorrell’s interview with Sky below:

Matt Mathers1 November 2023 09:451698831002

Boris Johnson will give ‘full acount’ in his evidence, says deputy PM

The Covid inquiry has already heard from a host of big-name politicos, including former prime minister David Cameron and his chancellor, George Osborne.

But perhaps the biggest draw is yet to come, with Boris Johnson himself set to testify before the end of the current module, which is set to conclude on 14 December.

Speaking to Sky News earlier, Oliver Dowden, the current deputy PM who served as Tory Party chairman under Johnson, said his old boss would give a “full account” when he is eventually called to give evidence.

“I am quite sure that when the former prime minister gives evidence he will give a full account of himself, the cabinet office has given a very full account of how we conducted ourselves,” he told the broadcaster.

“I am not going to give commentary on one individual piece of information because it needs to fit in with a much wider picture of how we conducted ourselves both at the time and through the vaccine programme, and through all the different, very difficult decisions that were taken around the cost and benefits of lockdowns.”

When asked about the testimony given by Cummings, Dowden cautioned against “taking one person’s evidence” as it needed to be taken “in the context of all the other evidence”.

Matt Mathers1 November 2023 09:301698829802

Recap: What happened during Tuesday’s session

Boris Johnson and his former chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, dominate the headlines today following the latter’s marathon evidence session on Tuesday.

Cummings, described as the most empowered adviser No 10 has ever seen, took several swipes at his old boss and criticised Whitehall’s ability to deal with a crisis.

In an extraordinary day of evidence, it was revealed that Cummings himself had described the constant change of strategy as “exhausting” and branded his cabinet “useless f***pigs” in explosive WhatsApp messages.

Johnson, meanwhile, was accused of saying old people needed to accept their “fate”. Below is a full recap of Tuesday’s proceedings, which also saw Lee Cain, Johnson’s former communications chief, testify:

Boris Johnson’s handling of Covid crisis slammed by former top advisers

Ex-PM thought coronavirus was ‘nature’s way of dealing with old people’, inquiry hears, as bereaved relatives attack ‘psychotic’ comments

Matt Mathers1 November 2023 09:101698829270

Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of the Covid inquiry.

Helen MacNamara, the former deputy cabinet secretary, will give evidence from 10am.

McNamara is the civil servant who was heavily criticised in expletive-laden texts written by Cummings.

The former ethics chief also became the first person to confirm she had been fined over lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street.

David Halpern, president and former chief executive officer of the Behavioural Insights Team, will give evidence after McNamara at 2pm.

Stay tuned for live updates.

Matt Mathers1 November 2023 09:011698822000

Watch – Lee Cain and Dominic Cummings provide worrying insight into No 10

Covid inquiry roundup: Lee Cain and Dominic Cummings provide worrying insight into No 10Lydia Patrick1 November 2023 07:001698820248

Covid was ‘wrong crisis’ for Boris Johnson to handle, ex-Comms chief tells inquiry

Covid was the “wrong crisis” for Boris Johnson to handle as he frustrated advisers by oscillating between decisions, the official inquiry has heard.

Mr Johnson dithered between supporting a lockdown and wanting to keep the country open in what was described as his Mayor of Jaws “routine”, the UK Covid-19 Inquiry was told on Tuesday.

Lee Cain, his long-term adviser who served as No 10’s communications director in the pandemic, said Mr Johnson’s erratic decision-making was “rather exhausting”.

Messages between Mr Cain and Dominic Cummings, who served as the then-prime minister’s chief adviser, showed them venting their frustrations on WhatsApp.

“Get in here he’s melting down,” Mr Cummings wrote on March 19 2020, days before the first lockdown, adding that Mr Johnson was “back to Jaws mode wank”.

Covid was ‘wrong crisis’ for Boris Johnson to handle, ex-Comms chief tells inquiry

Lee Cain said Mr Johnson’s erratic decision-making was ‘rather exhausting’

Maroosha Muzaffar1 November 2023 06:301698818400

ICYMI – Boris Johnson’s chaotic ‘flip-flopping’ made it ‘impossible’ to tackle Covid, advisers’ messages reveal

Scathing WhatsApp messages sent between Boris Johnson’s top team accused the former PM of creating chaos during the Covid crisis – complaining that he “flip-flopped” every day on direction and made it “impossible” to tackle the pandemic.

A series of startling new revelations emerged at the Covid inquiry, as messages shared between cabinet secretary Simon Case, chief scientific officer Sir Patrick Vallance and top adviser Dominic Cummings exposed the disdain they held for Mr Johnson.

It also emerged that Mr Johnson’s key aide Martin Reynolds set messages to “disappear” in a key Covid WhatsApp group only weeks after the ex-PM promised the Covid inquiry.

The ex-principal private secretary – dubbed “Party Marty” for his “bring your own booze” email during Partygate – said he was “deeply sorry” for his role in organising the infamous event and Mr Johnson’s birthday gathering at No 10.

Boris flip-flopping’ made it ‘impossible’ to tackle Covid, advisers’ messages reveal

Cabinet secretary warned that Johnson ‘cannot lead’ during crisis – as ex-No 10 aide admits he ‘disappeared’ WhatsApp messages

Lydia Patrick1 November 2023 06:001698816603

Top civil servant referenced in ‘misogynistic’ messages to give inquiry evidence

The former top civil servant criticised by Dominic Cummings in expletive-laden WhatsApp messages is set to appear before the Covid-19 inquiry.

Helen MacNamara, the former deputy cabinet secretary, will become the latest pandemic-era senior official to face questions about the response on Wednesday after two days of hearings revealed the dysfunction, indecision and dithering inside Boris Johnson’s government.

The ex-civil servant, who departed the civil service in 2021, was namechecked in proceedings on Tuesday as Mr Cummings denied he had behaved in a misogynistic way during his time in Downing Street.

WhatsApp messages shared with the inquiry revealed that Mr Cummings had labelled Ms MacNamara “that c***” and said he would “handcuff her and escort her” from Downing Street.

“I don’t care how it’s done but that woman must be out of our hair – we cannot keep dealing with this horrific meltdown of the British state while dodging stilettos from that c***,” he wrote.

Top civil servant referenced in ‘misogynistic’ messages to give inquiry evidence

Helen MacNamara, the former deputy cabinet secretary, is set to appear before the Covid-19 inquiry

Maroosha Muzaffar1 November 2023 05:301698814800

ICYMI – ‘Eat Out to Help Out made absolutely no sense whatsoever’

The Eat Out to Help Out scheme and the policy of sending people back to work during the pandemic “made absolutely no sense whatsoever”, Boris Johnson’s former director of communications told the UK Covid-19 Inquiry.

Lee Cain said he was critical of the Eat Out to Help Out policy when it was implemented by the then chancellor Rishi Sunak in August 2020.

Mr Cain told the UK Covid-19 Inquiry: “I, and particularly the other communicators as well, were just finding it very, very difficult because a huge part of what our role and responsibility is at that point is ‘what are we signalling to the public?’

“At this point of developing policy, we are indicating to people that Covid is over – go back out, get back to work, crowd yourself on to trains, go into restaurants and enjoy pizzas with friends and family – really build up that social mixing.

“Now that is fine if you are intent on never having to do suppression measures again – but from all the evidence we are receiving, from all the advice we are receiving, it was incredibly clear that we were going to have to do suppression measures again.

“We knew that all the way through, that was the strategy from the start.”

Lydia Patrick1 November 2023 05:00NewerOlder✕

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