So, ‘Party Marty’, why were No 10’s WhatsApp messages set to disappear?

Former Boris Johnson aide Martin Reynolds struggled to answer questions at the Covid inquiry today. But with Dominic Cummings about to give evidence, it could be Johnson and Rishi Sunak who will soon be doing the squirming, writes Sean O’Grady

Martin Reynolds giving evidence at the Covid inquiry on Monday (UK Parliament)

In the latest evidence sessions at the inquiry into the official response to the Covid pandemic, the “star” turn was given by Martin Reynolds, who was principal private secretary to Boris Johnson during the pandemic. Reynolds is perhaps best known for his role in Partygate. He was the chap who sent the now notorious “Bring Your Own Booze” email to Downing Street staff during lockdown. In his testimony to the inquiry, Reynolds, who earned the name “Party Marty”, was unable to fully explain why WhatsApp messages involving the prime minister and others were set to “disappear” after seven days. This was done by him in April 2021 as calls for a public inquiry into Covid responses intensified. The political problem for Rishi Sunak and his party is that these inquiry proceedings are a constant reminder of the mistakes and misbehaviour that occurred during the emergency. Reynolds’s explanation about the disappearing digital conversations was that: “It could, for example, have been because I was worried of someone screenshotting or using some of the exchanges and leaking them.” It hardly inspires confidence in the way contemporary government operates.

What else did we learn?

Nothing that was all that shocking, given what we’ve already learned from the media reports, police fines, Sue Gray investigation, the Commons privileges committee report, and various interviews and leaks by the various personalities involved. Johnson apparently “blew hot and cold” on key decisions; Dominic Cummings, was the “most empowered chief of staff ever seen” (true, even though he didn’t technically hold that job title); his staff thought Johnson was “mad” for thinking his WhatsApp messages would not be made public (as transpired); and that the cabinet secretary, Simon Case, was “at the end of my tether” at Johnson “changing strategic direction” while Cummings agreed saying he was getting “despairing” messages from people in meetings with him.