Johnson’s team labelled ‘brutal and useless’

Former PM’S government was ‘feral’ during Covid, Cabinet Secretary said in message to his predecessor

BORIS JOHNSON’S government was “brutal and useless” during the pandemic, the Covid Inquiry heard yesterday as his former cabinet secretary gave evidence.

Lord Sedwill was shown Whatsapp messages between him and his successor, Simon Case.

In a message sent on June 5 2020 to Lord Sedwill, Mr Case wrote: “It is like taming wild animals. Nothing in my past experience has prepared me for this madness. The PM and the people he chooses to surround himself with are basically feral.”

Lord Sedwill, who had worked in Mr Johnson’s administration since 2019, replied: “I have the bite marks.” An extract from the diaries of Sir Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific adviser, noted: “Sedwill came back saying this administration is brutal and useless.”

Dictatorship

An email shown to the Inquiry revealed Lord Sedwill accused Dominic Cummings, a senior Downing Street adviser, of “running a dictatorship” over a plan to introduce “key players” from No 10 to make decisions about Covid.

In March 2020, Lord Sedwill insisted Mr Johnson must not take decisions of significant national interest “with a bunch of No10 spads and no ministers” after Mr Cummings had suggested he or Lee Cain, the former head of communications at Downing Street, should lead an emergency meeting where urgent choices were needed.

Chickenpox

Mr Cummings has previously said Lord Sedwill suggested the prime minister should go on television and “explain

Lord Sedwill gives his evidence to the Inquiry yesterday

that this is like the old days with chickenpox and people are going to have chickenpox parties”.

Apologising for his remarks, he told the Inquiry the exchanges were private but he understood “it must have come across as someone in my role was both heartless and thoughtless about this and I genuinely am neither”.

He also addressed messages from Mr Cummings to the prime minister where he said Lord Sedwill was “miles off the pace” in early 2020 and that he “hasn’t a scooby [clue] what’s going on”.

He said he felt he should “project confidence, not overconfidence”, adding: “I can understand to some who were not taking that approach, it might have seemed I was off the pace.”

Matt Hancock

Lord Sedwill agreed he had wanted Matt Hancock to be sacked after being asked by Hugo Keith KC, lead counsel to the Inquiry, if there was a general issue surrounding the then health secretary, whom others have accused of being untruthful. In one exchange with Mr Case, he said he had told the prime minister to sack Mr Hancock to “save lives and protect the NHS”.

Lord Sedwill told the Inquiry the remark was a play on the pandemic era slogan and an example of “gallows humour”, but insisted he did not use the word sack with Mr Johnson.

Johnson’s stamina

Lord Sedwill revealed he was concerned about Mr Johnson’s stamina after his bout of Covid in April 2020, which saw the then prime minister admitted to intensive care.

He told the Inquiry: “I was concerned that it took him a long time to recover. He had a very serious bout ... I wasn’t concerned so much about his decision making style, it was about his stamina.”

‘Genius’ to exclude experts

Other Whatsapps shown to the Inquiry revealed Mr Case described Lord Sedwill as a “genius” after Sir Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer, and Sir Patrick Vallance were excluded from a meeting on relaxing lockdown restrictions.

“Your call about not including Patrick and Chris was genius – it removed that dynamic,” Mr Case wrote.

Stalinist segmentation

Lord Sedwill compared shielding to “Stalinist segmentation” in messages to Mr Case on July 16 2020.

“The virus kills the old and sick. The lockdown hits the young and healthy,” he said. Shielding was the term used for those who were elderly or clinically vulnerable voluntarily isolating.

‘Your call about not including Patrick and Chris was genius. It removed that dynamic’

Confidence is contagious

Minutes of a Cabinet meeting in February 2020 showed Mr Johnson cautioned against overreacting to the pandemic, warning “confidence was also contagious, and it was important the Government remain measured in its response.”

The Inquiry also heard the Department for Health had no “central plans” to deal with the Covid crisis when it first hit the UK.