02 December 2023 , 19:48
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Boris Johnson “apologised to Matt Hancock” for hiring Dominic Cummings to work in Number 10, the former Health Secretary has claimed.
In documents submitted alongside his evidence to the Covid-19 inquiry, Mr Hancock repeatedly complained about Mr Cummings’ behaviour - which he claims the ex-PM accepted had “damaged” the coronavirus response effort. It follows a long-running feud between the former Health Secretary and Mr Johnson’s former chief advisor.
He claimed Mr Cummings had tried to “centralise power” to himself - and said his decision-making was “known to be erratic.” But Mr Cummings has previously claimed Mr Johnson had declared Mr Hancock to be “totally f***ing hopeless”.
During Mr Hancock’s day-and-a-half of evidence to the Inquiry, Mr Cummings frequently posted on Twitter, accusing him of “lie after lie after lie” and saying: “Hancock admits he didn't read SAGE minutes in Feb - explains a lot.”
Mr Johnson’s spokesman would not be drawn on if or when an apology had been given to Mr Hancock. He said: “ Boris Johnson will be at the Covid Inquiry next week and is looking forward to assisting the Inquiry with its important work.”
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(PA)Mr Johnson is reportedly set to tell the Inquiry that he "unquestionably made mistakes" in his handling of the pandemic.
But according to The Times, the British leader during the coronavirus outbreak will argue that decisions he took, including ordering three lockdowns in England, ended up saving "tens if not hundreds of thousands of lives".
He is expected to say that without such restrictions, thousands more people would have had "miserable and unnecessary deaths, some of them in hospital car parks and corridors" due to the health service becoming overwhelmed by the virus.
Mr Johnson is due to appear next week before the inquiry, which he set up while still in Downing Street. Aides to the former Conservative Party leader said the briefing to the newspaper had not come from them.
The Times said Mr Johnson's written statement, which is likely to be published after his appearance before the public inquiry, is set to barely mention his former senior aide Dominic Cummings. Acting as his de facto chief of staff in Downing Street until late 2020, Mr Cummings has been an outspoken critic of Mr Johnson's since their acrimonious split.
Mr Johnson is reportedly set to back under-fire former health secretary Matt Hancock, who has been singled out for criticism by a host of inquiry witnesses, saying he did a "good job in very difficult circumstances". Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who served as chancellor during the pandemic and whose resignation in July 2022 helped trigger the end of Mr Johnson's premiership, is set to be largely absent from the former premier's written testimony, according to the newspaper.
The Times said he is planning to defend Mr Sunak's Eat Out To Help Out scheme, a government-backed discount provision that was designed to support the hospitality sector following the first lockdown.
Mr Johnson will reportedly say the proposal was "properly discussed" with England's chief medical officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty and former chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance despite both saying they did not know about it until it was announced. It is likely Mr Johnson will be quizzed on accusations that his No 10 operation was dysfunctional - a claim made by former chancellor and health secretary Sajid Javid this week at the inquiry.
Mr Javid said it felt like "key decisions were being made by Mr Cummings and not the prime minister", something the experienced politician said he had never seen before under other prime ministers.
Mr Johnson is also likely to be asked about lockdown-breaching parties that were held in Downing Street. Dubbed the partygate scandal, it helped lead to Mr Johnson's exit from high office last year and eventual decision in June, following a probe by law makers into whether he misled Parliament over the gatherings, to quit as an MP.
Mr Sunak is expected to give evidence in person before Christmas, with chairwoman Baroness Hallett currently looking into UK decision-making during the second phase of her inquiry.
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