UK COVID Inquiry: Johnson Aide Gives Evidence

Facts

• Dominic Cummings, the top adviser to former British PM Boris Johnson, told the official COVID inquiry on Tuesday that a 'fatalistic' approach gripped the Cabinet Office during the first wave of the pandemic, obstructing attempts to create a 'shielding plan' to protect vulnerable groups.¹
• In addition, Cummings claimed that he had frequently warned Johnson about Health Secretary Matt Hancock's 'incompetence' and 'constant lies' and called for him to be sacked.²
• Further, Cummings defended his controversial trip to Barnard Castle taken amid the pandemic lockdown and denied claims of misogyny over his use of 'appalling' language to describe then-senior civil servant Helen MacNamara.³
• Additionally, he suggested that the Cabinet Secretary was more powerful than the Cabinet, that time-consuming meetings were held 'just for show,' and that a 'dumpster fire' of documents hindered discussions.⁴
• His hearing followed that of Lee Cain, Downing Street's former director of communications, who had told the inquiry that Johnson couldn't deal with the crisis due to his tendency to 'oscillate' between decisions.⁵
• The inquiry — approved by Johnson in 2021 — is investigating the government's handling of the pandemic, which has reportedly taken the lives of over 200K people in the UK. Public hearings are scheduled to run from June 13 until 2026.⁶

Sources: ¹Sky News, ²The Guardian, ³BBC News, ⁴GB News, ⁵Independent and ⁶ITN.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by The Guardian. Cummings could have taken this opportunity to ask the country for forgiveness — he was at the heart of a failing administration and did nothing while floundering policy making led to excess deaths. Instead, he opted to boast his ego with claims that his sexist comments against MacNamara and infamous lockdown-bursting trips were morally acceptable and within the rules.
• Right narrative, as provided by Daily Mail. That an inexperienced Cabinet would struggle to deal with an unprecedented threat to the UK's health was inevitable. Given that the country would likely still be under lockdown if Labour had won the 2019 election, Boris Johnson must be praised for his achievements in what was an impossible position.

Predictions