Covid inquiry live: Boris Johnson’s pandemic response was ‘Trump-level mad and dangerous’

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

Lee Cain, former director of communications and Dominic Cummings, ex-chief of staff – two of Boris Johnson’s closest aides – are due to give evidence today.

Yesterday saw Martin Reynolds, the former principal private secretary and Imran Sahfi, the private secretary for public services, appear before the inquiry.

Here is a summary of the evidence given on Monday:

The extraordinary messages sent between the likes of Dominic Cummings, Lee Cain and Simon Case reveal the strong disquiet among Mr Johnson’s advisers, with Mr Case, the cabinet secretary and top civil servant, at one point declaring: “I am at the end of my tether.”

Lee Cain had been due to appear before the inquiry yesterday but his session was delayed because Martin Reynolds’s evidence ran over.

Cain is scheduled to appear first at 10am this morning, followed by Cummings. According to the inquiry agenda, the former chief of staff’s session will run into the afternoon, beyond 2pm.

Yesterday, Cummings was described as one of the most powerful chiefs of staff ever.

Lead counsel Hugo Keith KC referred to comments previously heard by the Covid inquiry describing Mr Johnson’s “ridiculous flip-flopping” – a note from former chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance – and the Government looking like a “terrible, tragic joke”, a comment made by the Cabinet Secretary Simon Case.

Another read “we have a weak and indecisive prime minister”, although it was not stated who had made that comment.

Mr Keith put it to Mr Johnson’s former principal private secretary Martin Reynolds: “In the face of a viral pandemic, if those views are right, that was a deeply unfortunate position to be in, was it not?”

Mr Reynolds replied: “Yes.”

The country was in a “deeply unfortunate position” when the pandemic hit, with a “weak and indecisive prime minister” in charge, the Covid inquiry has heard.

One of Boris Johnson’s key aides turned messages to “disappear” in a key Covid WhatsApp group only weeks after the ex-PM promised a Covid public inquiry, it has been revealed.

Mr Reynolds, Mr Johnson’s principal private secretary, told the inquiry he “cannot recall exactly why I did so” – before adding that he did not believe it was to “prevent” the inquiry having access to the messages.

Adam Forrest, Political Correspondent reports:

Last week a note to the chairman of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry from one of its counsels said the inquiry was of the belief that the “majority” of informal messages, including on WhatsApp had “not been retained”.

The First Minister said on Monday he had retained his messages, but that there had been a Scottish government policy on social media messaging which advised their deletion after 30 days.

The report, by former top aide Martin Reynolds and then deputy cabinet secretary Helen MacNamara, was written in May 2020 amid concerns about discipline, “macho behaviour” and misogyny, the UK Covid-19 Inquiry heard yesterday.

Released as part of a batch of documents relevant to the inquiry, the report asked more than 45 people who worked closely with No 10 what could be done to better support the prime minister in May 2020.