Covid inquiry live: Hancock ‘wanted to decide who should live or die if NHS became overwhelmed’

Lord Simon Stevens says Cabinet ministers ‘avoided’ Cobra meetings chaired by then-health secretary

Covid inquiry roundup: Lee Cain and Dominic Cummings provide worrying insight into No 10

Ex-health secretary Matt Hancock believed that he – rather than doctors or the public – should decide “who should live and who should die” if hospitals became overwhelmed with Covid patients, the former NHS chief executive has said.

Lord Simon Stevens said that “fortunately this horrible dilemma never crystallised”, as he told the Covid inquiry on Thursday that it would have to look “very carefully” at the issue of asymptomatic Covid patients being discharged from hospitals into care homes.

Meanwhile, Mr Hancock, who was health secretary at the start of the Covid outbreak, told Public Health England’s then medical director Yvonne Doyle “not to patronise him” when she warned that the virus could be in the UK, she told the inquiry.

She said she was barred from doing media interviews for a time after that, and apologised to him, even though she had been telling the truth.

It comes a day after former top civil servant and ethics chief Helen MacNamara said the “female perspective” was missed during the pandemic as she condemned a “toxic” and “macho” culture at the highest levels of Mr Johnson’s government.

Key Points

• Matt Hancock ‘wanted to choose who lived or died if NHS overwhelmed'
• Revealed: Ministers braced for 840,000 Covid deaths
• Hancock told medical chief not to ‘patronise’ him by telling truth
• Watch: Ministers ‘avoided’ Cobra meetings chaired by Matt Hancock

[31 October 2023 07:07 · Matt Mathers]

Pinned post: Covid inquiry continues

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:

[31 October 2023 07:00 · Tara Cobham]

Watch: NHS left unprotected during pandemic, says Shafi

[31 October 2023 06:00 · Tara Cobham]

‘We have a weak and indecisive prime minister'

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.

[31 October 2023 05:00 · Tara Cobham]

Ex-No10 chief admits he ‘disappeared’ messages in PM’s group chat

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.

Martin Reynolds was grilled about switching the function to delete messages in the then-PM’s group April 2021 – just after Mr Johnson announced an inquiry – as he gave evidence on Monday.

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:

[31 October 2023 04:45 · Shweta Sharma]

I’ve retained my WhatsApp messages relating to Covid pandemic, says Humza Yousaf

Scotland’s first minister Humza Yousaf has said he has not deleted WhatsApp messages relating to the Covid-19 pandemic, following press reports his predecessor and senior officials may have.

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.

[31 October 2023 04:14 · Shweta Sharma]

Women staff were being ‘talked over and ignored’, report into No 10 culture during pandemic finds

An internal report into the culture at the top of government in the early months of the pandemic found that women staff were being “talked over and ignored” and “bad behaviours” were being tolerated from senior leaders.

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.

[31 October 2023 04:00 · Tara Cobham]

Watch: Johnson stressed ‘need to avoid overreaction’ at start of pandemic

[31 October 2023 03:00 · Tara Cobham]

‘High degree of dysfunctionality’ dealing with Johnson, says Shafi

The former private secretary to the prime minister for public services, Imran Shafi, told the UK Covid-19 Inquiry there was a "high degree of dysfunctionality" when dealing with the then-PM Boris Johnson.

Counsel to the inquiry Hugo Keith KC asked the witness: "The material may suggest there were a number of competing power sources in Downing Street, personality clashes, and we can see... a high degree of dysfunctionality in terms of dealing with the prime minister - would you agree?"

Mr Shafi replied: "Yes."

Mr Keith continued: "None of that leant itself well to the best sort of decision-making did it?"

Mr Shafi said: "No."

[31 October 2023 02:00 · Tara Cobham]

The ‘wrecked’ lives of forgotten long Covid sufferers

Nearly four years since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, you could be forgiven for believing the pandemic is behind us. But for many, it feels far from over.

Close to two million people face a daily battle with debilitating symptoms of long Covid – the lasting symptoms of the virus that remain after the infection is gone – with some now housebound, unable to walk and even partially blind.

Alan Chambers, 49, and Allan Reeling, 76, are among those who have been grappling with the illness for years, having caught coronavirus in March 2020, two months after the UK’s first two patients tested positive for the virus.

Read more here:

[31 October 2023 01:00 · Tara Cobham]

Watch: Reynolds agrees Covid officials operated ‘without proper playbook’