Boris Johnson decision-making ‘exhausting for his inner circle’, Lord Sedwill says

The extraordinary messages sent between the likes of Dominic Cummings, Lee Cain and Simon Case reveal the strong disquiet among Mr Johnson’s advisers, with Mr Case, the cabinet secretary and top civil servant, at one point declaring: “I am at the end of my tether.”

The ex-PM’s top officials also branded him “weak and indecisive” and referred to him as a “trolley”. Chief scientific advisor Sir Patrick Vallance, meanwhile, said Mr Johnson was “all over the place” and “so completely inconsistent”.

Rishi Sunak has sacked a senior Tory from his government job as a ministerial aide for calling breaking ranks and calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hama conflict.

Paul Bristow, a parliamentary private secretary (PPS) at the science department, called for a “permanent” ceasefire in Gaza in a letter to Mr Sunak.

The MP for Peterborough said it “would save lives and allow for a continued column of humanitarian aid [to] reach the people who need it the most”.

Adam Forrest, Political Correspondent reports:

Former private secretary to Boris Johnson Imran Shafi also said Prof Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer, had criticised Rishi Sunak’s “Eat out to help out” scheme in August 2020 – calling it “Eat out to help out the virus”.

Dominic Cummings’ press conference on his lockdown trip to Barnard Castle was described as a “car crash” by the former chief scientist, who said the journey had clearly gone against the rules at the time.

Sir Patrick Vallance, writing in his notebooks at the time in May 2020, also said he and England’s then-chief medical officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty felt No 10 officials were trying to “strong arm” them into appearing by Boris Johnson’s side at a Downing Street press conference afterwards.

Monday’s hearing at the UK Covid-19 Inquiry heard Mr Cummings, who became well-known to the public when news of his trip to the Co Durham beauty spot emerged, described as “the most empowered chief of staff Downing Street has seen”.

He will give evidence to the inquiry on Tuesday.

Scathing WhatsApp messages sent between Boris Johnson’s top team accused the former PM of creating chaos during the Covid crisis – complaining that he “flip-flopped” every day on direction and made it “impossible” to tackle the pandemic.

Adam Forrest and Archie Mitchell report:

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s approach to dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic was “mad and dangerous” and his constant indecision made it “impossible” to tackle the virus, the government’s top civil servant told officials.

The exchanges between Simon Case, the government’s most senior official, and officials in which he also described Britain’s response in 2020 as a “terrible, tragic joke”, were shown on Monday to the inquiry into how the government handled the worst health crisis in almost a century.

In the autumn of 2020 when the government was discussing how to suppress the virus, Case said of Johnson: “He cannot lead and we cannot support him under these circumstances. The team captain cannot change the call on the big plays every day.” He then wrote in capital letters: “IT HAS TO STOP”.

Months earlier when the government was reopening after the first lockdown, Case said Johnson wanted to let the virus “rip” and compared Johnson’s approach to the way US President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who were known for dismissing the threat of Covid, were handling the crisis.

“This is in danger of becoming Trump/Bolsonaro level mad and dangerous,” Case told other colleagues.

A spokesman for Johnson, who will appear as a witness in the inquiry in the future, declined to comment.

Mr Sunak revealed that he would have a conversation with the owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, on his social media platform this Thursday evening.

Adam Forrest, Political Correspondent reports:

Senior Labour MP Andy McDonald has had the party whip suspended for using the controversial phrase “between the river and the sea” in a pro-Palestine rally speech.

The MP for Middlesbrough used the phrase as he urged peace between Israelis and Palestinians at an event at the weekend.

Some pro-Palestinian protesters have chanted “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” during recent demonstrations in London, despite controversy around the slogan’s meaning.

Families held a vigil for Covid-19 victims at the site of Dominic Cummings’ eyesight-testing lockdown trip, ahead of his appearance at the UK Covid-19 Inquiry.

Campaigners projected the message “228,040 Covid deaths – is that clear enough to read?” on to the walls of Barnard Castle on Monday.

The County Durham beauty spot made headlines during the pandemic when it was disclosed that Mr Cummings, former prime minister Boris Johnson’s chief adviser at the time, had taken a day trip there in April 2020, while the country was in lockdown.