Half-term communications gap under scrutiny as inquiry hears of Covid ‘failings’

There was a 10-day period in February in which no notes on coronavirus were sent to Boris Johnson and no emergency Cobra meetings held.

Martin Reynolds, who gave evidence on Monday, was a key aide to former prime minister Boris Johnson during the pandemic (Victoria Jones/PA) (PA Archive)

Boris Johnson’s handling of the early days of the pandemic has come in for further questioning, as it emerged there was a 10-day period – coinciding with half-term holidays – in which no notes on coronavirus were sent to him nor emergency Cobra meetings held.

Martin Reynolds, a former top aide dubbed “Party Marty” due to his role in the partygate scandal, was the key witness as he faced questions about WhatsApp communications, a lack of preparation and the culture inside Downing Street.

At one stage, he said that Mr Johnson did “blow hot and cold” on various issues while at another he acknowledged concerns about “macho behaviour” and “misogyny” in the top-level management of the crisis.

The former principal private secretary also pointed to a “systemic failure” to prepare for the pandemic as he appeared to acknowledge that the realisation of the scale of the disaster had come “late”.

The fact we got into that position is a result of a systemic failure and a failure of the people who are really tracking the situation most closely

Martin Reynolds

Taking questions from Hugo Keith KC, lead counsel to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, he was asked about a 10-day spell in February 2020 where there “were no communications by email, by Cobra, by boxed notes, with the prime minister during that 10-day period on coronavirus”.

Mr Reynolds, who initially said that he could not recall whether there was any “urgent business” during that period, was told by Mr Keith it was half-term.

The senior civil servant faced repeated questions about whether Downing Street and the Cabinet Office were slow to respond to the impending crisis, as scenes and reports of overwhelmed Italian hospitals began to be broadcast in the UK.

“The fact we got into that position is a result of a systemic failure and a failure of the people who are really tracking the situation most closely,” he said.

He accepted that Government protocols were “inadequate” and “grossly deficient”, while also pointing to the “unusual dynamic” in Downing Street during that period and the influence of Dominic Cummings.

Mr Reynolds offered a picture of a Government that, after Mr Johnson’s 2019 general election, was “very different” and acknowledged that there had been a “bedding down of new working arrangements”.

“There was a sense that the Government had a five or 10-year time horizon to look at and there was a really strong focus on the forward agenda,” he said.

Mr Reynolds also spoke about the “unease” regarding a so-called “shitlist” reportedly drawn up on civil servants, while also describing Mr Cummings as “the most empowered chief of staff Downing Street has seen and was the person whose writ ruled”.

Mr Cummings will appear before the probe on Tuesday, with former Number 10 director of communications Lee Cain’s evidence session also delayed until tomorrow.

Elsewhere it emerged that the country’s top civil servant Simon Case – in a WhatsApp exchange with Mr Reynolds – said Mr Johnson was “mad” if he did not believe his private WhatsApp messages would become public as part of the Covid inquiry.

The extent and nature of decision-making through the messaging app has become a key plank of Baroness Heather Hallett’s probe, with the comments about Mr Johnson made in exchanges between Mr Case and Mr Reynolds.

Mr Reynolds, appearing before the inquiry on Monday, said Mr Johnson had perhaps not realised his WhatsApp messages would enter the public domain.

Details of other WhatsApp messages shared during the pandemic saw the Cabinet Secretary complain to Mr Cummings that Mr Johnson “cannot lead and we cannot support him in leading with this approach”.

In the message, read at the hearing, Mr Case said: “I am at the end of my tether.

“He changes strategic direction every day (Monday we were all about fear of virus returning as per Europe, March etc – today we’re in ‘let it rip’ mode cos (sic) the UK is pathetic, needs a cold shower etc).

“The team captain cannot change the call on the big plays every day. The team can’t deliver anything under these circumstances.”

Elsewhere, Sir Patrick Vallance said senior officials in Number 10 had tried to “strong arm” himself and Professor Sir Chris Whitty into appearing at a press conference around the time it emerged Mr Cummings had gone to Barnard Castle during the first lockdown.

Sir Patrick described Mr Cummings’ Downing Street rose garden statement to the media as a “car crash” and “rambling”, and said neither he nor Sir Chris wanted to do a press conference with Mr Johnson afterwards.

Mr Reynolds denied being involved in strong-arming the top health experts, while also using the hearing to acknowledge his own concerns about management at the top of Government.

He was asked about a report he and deputy cabinet secretary Helen MacNamara helped write in May 2020, amid concerns about “discipline”, “macho behaviour” and “misogyny”.

Mr Reynolds agreed with counsel Mr Keith who said that the report showed “dysfunctionality, lack of discipline, chaos and a significant degree of misogyny”.

The then-senior official also suggested that he had turned on the “disappearing message function” on the WhatsApp group titled “PM Updates” on April 15 2021 because of concerns about potential leaks.

“It could, for example, have been because I was worried of someone screenshotting or using some of the exchanges and leaking them,” he said.

Downing Street on Monday said that the use of disappearing WhatsApp messages is permitted as civil servants and ministerial private offices are required to record and log official decisions for the official record.

Mr Reynolds made headlines after it emerged he arranged a gathering in the No 10 garden on May 20 2020 when leaving home without a reasonable excuse was banned. He was subsequently forced out amid outrage over the partygate scandal.

He told the hearing he would like to “apologise unreservedly to all the families of all those who suffered during Covid for all the distress caused”.

Imran Shafi, former private secretary to the prime minister for public services, also gave evidence in the afternoon.

He said that there was “too much focus on excess-death management and not enough focus on preventing those deaths in the first place”.