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

Boris Johnson’s one-time closest advisers lined up to slam his leadership during the Covid pandemic as he was blasted for his handling of the crisis.

In an extraordinary day of evidence at the Covid-19 inquiry, the former prime minister’s chief aide Dominic Cummings described the constant change of strategy as “exhausting” and branded his cabinet “useless f***pigs” in explosive WhatsApp messages.

Mr Cummings said that Mr Johnson did not think Covid was a “big deal”, while the hearing was also told that then-PM was “obsessed” with the idea older people should be allowed to catch the virus and accept their “fate” to keep the economy open.

It came as the inquiry heard:

In messages Mr Cummings sent to former communications chief Lee Cain at the height of the pandemic, he slammed the former prime minister handling of the pandemic.

He said he was “exhausted” trying to explain things to Mr Johnson and that the PM had gone “back to Jaws mode w***” , a reference to the mayor in Steven Spielberg’s film who wants to keep the beaches open.

Mr Cummings also told the inquiry that Mr Johnson was described as an “indecisive trolley” by “pretty much everyone”, because of his constant change in direction, and that much of the government was a “nightmare” to work with during the pandemic.

And he revealed how the then-PM considered Covid “another swine flu… (or) rubbish media hoax”.

Mr Cummings said the prevailing view at the start of the pandemic was that lockdown was a “completely crazy idea”, that No 10 was “completely unsuitable’’ for handling the crisis “in every way” and the Cabinet Office were “terrifyingly s***”.

He slammed Mr Johnson’s decision to go on holiday just a month before the national lockdown as “pretty insane” but said he did not urge him to return because he feared the PM would make the situation worse.

In another blow to Mr Johnson, Mr Cain told the inquiry that Covid was the “wrong crisis” for the then-PM’s “skillset”. Mr Johnson preferred to stay in his study than attend the government’s emergency Cobra meetings about the pandemic, the inquiry heard.

A series of foul-mouthed messages from Mr Cummings also laid bare the chaos at the heart of Mr Johnson’s government during the Covid crisis.

WhatsApp messages and emails show he called Mr Johnson’s cabinet “useless f***pigs”, “c****” and morons – while former health secretary Matt Hancock was branded a “proven liar”.

Calling for a reshuffle, amid fears of a second wave of the virus, he warned Mr Johnson in August 2020: “We face going into autumn crisis with the c*** (Mr Hancock) in charge of NHS still.”

Apologising for his choice of words, Mr Cummings admitted his language was “appalling” but said he was reflecting “a widespread view” that senior politicians were “dealing with this crisis extremely badly”.

The inquiry also saw diary entries from Sir Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific adviser during the pandemic, in which he wrote that Mr Johnson suggested the pandemic was “nature’s way of dealing with old people” as he resisted lockdowns.

Sir Patrick wrote in August 2020 that Mr Johnson was “obsessed with older people accepting their fate and letting the young get on with life and the economy going”.

Four months later, describing a series of “bonkers” set of exchanges, he wrote that Mr Johnson “says his party ‘thinks the whole thing is pathetic and Covid is just nature’s way of dealing with old people – and I am not entirely sure I disagree with them. A lot of moderate people think it is a bit too much’. Wants to rely on polling.”

Messages shown to the inquiry also revealed that in October 2020, Mr Johnson stressed the need to “recalibrate” away from a nationwide lockdown because it was mainly elderly people dying.

He messaged: “The median age is 82 – 81 for men 85 for women. That is above life expectancy.“So get Covid and live longer.” The then prime minister said “I no longer buy all this NHS overwhelmed stuff”.

Mr Cummings also confirmed Mr Johnson had said during a meeting with then-chancellor Rishi Sunak that “we are killing the patient to tackle the tumour. Large numbers of people will die. Why are we destroying the economy for people who will die soon anyway?”

Brenda Doherty, whose mother died aged 82 in March 2020 after contracting Covid-19 in hospital, said reading Mr Johnson’s“psychotic” comments felt like being “punched in the stomach” and showed he had a “callous and brutal attitude”.

Mr Cummings also faced scrutiny of his own, when he was pressed about a sexist rant in messages referring to the then-deputy cabinet secretary as “that c***” and talking of putting her in handcuffs.

In expletive-laden WhatsApps about Helen MacNamara in 2020, he said if he had to deal with her “bullshit … I will personally handcuff her and escort her from the building.” He also talked of “dodging stilettos from that c***.”

Challenged about the messages, Mr Cummings insisted he was “not misogynistic”, saying:”I was much ruder about men than I was about Helen”, although he admitted his language was ” deplorable”.

The inquiry also heard how Mr Johnson described the infighting surrounding Mr Cummings’ eventual exit from No 10 as a “disgusting orgy of narcissism”.

In a final WhatsApp message, the then-PM hit out at suggestions that his wife Carrie was responsible for briefing against Mr Cummings, who had left No 10 two days earlier.

Mr Johnson wrote: “She hasn’t briefed anyone and my instructions to all were to shut the f*** up. How is any of us supposed to know where these briefings come from? Look at the claims made on behalf of allies of Lee (Cain) and Dom, that I’m out in six months, that I can’t take decisions, that Carrie is secretly forging lockdown policy, and about a billion equally demented claims.”

He added: “This is a totally disgusting orgy of narcissism by a government that should be solving a national crisis.”