Boris wanted to scrap Covid rules to distract from Dominic Cummings breaking law
Boris Johnson wanted to rush to scrap Covid restrictions as a distraction after it was revealed that Dominic Cummings had broken lockdown rules. The Mirror broke the story that the PM’s top aide had driven 264 miles from London to his parents’ property in Durham in March 2020 despite having coronavirus symptoms.
Diary notes written by Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, which were published by the Covid Inquiry today, reveal how Mr Johnson wanted to divert attention from the row. In an entry on May 25 - two days after the Mirror published its scoop - he warned that Mr Cummings’ trip was “clearly against the rules”.
He wrote: "PM seems very bullish and wants to have everything released sooner and more extremely than we would. Wants to divert from the DC (Dominic Cummings) fiasco. All very worrying. Cabinet all upbeat and 'breezy confidence' - incredibly alarming.”
Sir Patrick described in his notes how senior No10 officials had tried to "strong arm" him and Professor Sir Chris Whitty into appearing before the media as the row over the lockdown breach raged. But he said that they were “very reluctant” to do so as they believed it would “undermine our credibility”.
He described the press conference given by Mr Cummings in the Downing Street garden as he tried to defend himself as a "car crash" and "rambling". Mr Cummings admitted to journalists that during his time in Durham he had driven his family to Barnard Castle, a beauty spot 30 miles away. But he argued this was necessary to check his eyesight was good enough for the longer drive back to London.
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In other notebook entries, Sir Patrick complained about Mr Johnson's chaotic leadership style. In July 2020 he wrote: "The ridiculous flip-flopping is getting worse - maybe as he recovers?" A couple of months later in September that year, he wrote: “He is all over the place and completely inconsistent. You can see why it was so difficult to get agreement to lockdown 1st time."
At the Covid Inquiry today, Mr Johnson’s Principal Private Secretary Martin Reynolds described Mr Cummings as “the most empowered chief of staff Downing Street has seen”. Giving evidence, the top official said the adviser “was the person whose writ ruled, who was able to drive things through the machine in the way I suspect few other chiefs of staff have done”. But Mr Reynolds suggested that tensions in Downing Street that were created by Mr Cummings proved a distraction as the pandemic hit. He mentioned the adviser’s drive to bring “misfits and weirdos” into No10 as aides and the so-called “s***list” of senior civil servants he wanted to oust.
Mr Reynolds was asked about a report that he and Deputy Cabinet Secretary Helen MacNamara wrote in May 2020 on concerns about "macho behaviour" in Downing Street. Asked if the document showed “dysfunctionality, lack of discipline, chaos and a significant degree of misogyny” at the heart of Government, Mr Reynolds responded: "I agree." The report warned that junior women in No10 were “talked over or ignored”. “We need a modern culture of organised collaboration not superhero bunfight,” one official was reported as saying. Another complained: “No10 always at war with someone.”
Mr Cummings is due to give evidence to the Covid Inquiry on Tuesday.
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