A series of damning WhatsApp messages shown at the Covid inquiry, reveal the government was described as a “terrible, tragic joke” by the head of the civil service.
Simon Case, who was appointed cabinet secretary in September 2020 and had been made permanent secretary in No.10, also described Boris Johnson’s wife, Carrie, as “the real person in charge”.
These messages flashed up on screen during a Covid-10 inquiry in London focusing on UK decision-making and political governance.
Within the high-profile WhatsApp group, where the messages were exchanged, participants included Lee Cain, the head of communications, and Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s chief advisor at the time.
The messages also saw Mr Case describing his inability to “cope” in apparent frustration with the government.
In the message exchange, Case wrote: “Am not sure I can cope with today. Might just go home. Matt [Hancock] just called, having spoken to PM. According to Matt (so aim off, obvs), PM has asked Matt to work up regional circuit breakers for the North (as per Northern Ireland) today — and to bring recommendations. I am going to scream…”
Lee Cain, who was Boris Johnson’s director of communications until November 2020, replied: “Wtf are we talking about.”
Case, in an apparent reference to Johnson’s partner, now wife, replied: “Whatever Carrie cares about, I guess.”
Case wrote: “I was always told that [Dominic Cummings] was the secret PM. How wrong they are. I look forward to telling select committee tomorrow — ‘oh, f*** no, don’t worry about Dom, the real person in charge is Carrie’.”
The WhatsApp messages appeared on screen and are understood to have been sent on October 14, 2020.
During the October 13 hearing, the messages were on screen at the same time a letter to the inquiry from Mr Johnson’s former advisor, Dominic Cummings, was shown and discussed.
As reported in The Times, Alex Thomas, of the Institute for Government, formerly a civil servant in the Department of Health and Social Care and the Cabinet Office gave evidence.
He said the Cabinet Office decision-making structure was not good “either at responding quickly and authoritatively to rapidly developing external events or synthesising complex material… from scientists, economic advisers, other departments”.
The inquiry seeks to scrutinise the government’s decisions during the pandemic and assess where and why things went wrong.
The hearings are examining the UK’s resilience and preparedness; core decision-making and political governance; the impact of Covid on healthcare systems across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; and vaccines and therapeutics.
The inquiry continues.
