Boris Johnson's Covid calamity - late lockdown, Partygate and who was really in charge

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson will appear before the Covid Inquiry today, where he will be grilled about his response to the coronavirus pandemic - here are the key questions he has to answer

Boris Johnson faces a brutal grilling as he’s hauled before the Covid Inquiry today.

The former PM will give evidence across two days on today and tomorrow, before Rishi Sunak appears next week. Mr Johnson will face difficult questions, including over claims he said he would rather “let the bodies pile high” than impose another lockdown. Dominic Cummings and former No10 director of communications Lee Cain both told the inquiry last month how Mr Johnson dithered over key decisions as he constantly changed his mind. Mr Cain said it was "the wrong crisis for this Prime Minister's skillset", as he admitted Mr Johnson was a “challenging character to work with” as he “will oscillate” and “take a decision from the last person in the room”.

Mr Cummings conceded it was "pretty insane" many senior government officials including Mr Johnson went on holiday in February 2020 half term rather than help to prepare for the pandemic. The inquiry has also heard claims Mr Johnson asked scientists if people could kill Covid by blowing a hairdryer up their nose. Here are some of the key questions Mr Johnson must answer - under oath - at the Covid Inquiry.

Do you now admit saying 'let the bodies pile high'?

Boris Johnson has repeatedly denied claims that he said he was willing to “let the bodies pile high”, including in television interviews and in the House of Commons. But in his statement to the inquiry, his former No10 chief-of-staff Lord Lister said he’d heard it. “I recall the PM saying in September 2020 that he would rather ‘let the bodies pile high’ than impose another lockdown,” he wrote.

Mr Johnson will be asked under oath if he still denies making the remarks. He’ll also be questioned on bombshell claims in former Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance’s diaries, including that he argued Covid is “just nature's way of dealing with old people” and that he was prepared to let them die as they’d had “a good innings”.

Why didn’t you learn lessons after locking down late?

Matt Hancock last week admitted that “many, many lives” were lost because the first national lockdown was imposed three weeks later than it should have been. “The facts show that delaying a lockdown leads to a worse lockdown - with worse health and economic outcomes,” he wrote in his witness statement. Despite the mistakes made in March 2020, the Government was slow to introduce both the second and third national lockdowns, which came in November 2020 and January 2021.

Why did you go on a 10 day holiday as Covid hit Britain?

The inquiry has heard that Mr Johnson received no emails, Cobra briefings or written papers about Covid for 10 days during the February 2020 half term - even though the first cases of the virus had already been found in Britain. The PM spent the break at Chevening, the grace-and-favour mansion in Kent. In his witness statement, Dominic Cummings wrote : “He said he wanted to work on his Shakespeare book.” Mr Johnson signed a book deal in 2015 to write Shakespeare: The Riddle of Genius, but it has never been published.

Did 'pro-death squad' leader Rishi Sunak block measures?

The PM will be asked about his friend-turned-foe Rishi Sunak, who was Chancellor during the pandemic. In his diary, Sir Patrick wrote that Mr Johnson described the Treasury under his leadership as a “pro-death squad”. It has also been suggested that Mr Sunak believed the Government should “just let people die and that’s okay”.

Questions have also been raised about Mr Sunak’s Eat Out To Help Out, which was introduced without the knowledge of Government scientists. Professor Sir Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer, nicknamed the August 2020 half-price meals scheme “Eat Out To Help Out The Virus”.

Why didn’t you sack Dominic Cummings over Barnard Castle row?

The inquiry has heard that Mr 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.

In a diary entry two days after the Mirror published its scoop in May 2020, Sir Patrick 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.”

Was it a mistake not to increase sick pay?

Mr Hancock on Friday admitted sick pay in the UK “is far too low” and that he would “double it”. The inquiry has heard how Mr Sunak blocked plans to give low paid workers financial support if they needed to isolate despite warnings it was necessary to stop Covid spreading.

Mr Johnson also is accused of venting at “malingering workshy people” as he pushed to get them back in offices. In an entry in Sir Patrick’s diary in July 2021, he wrote that the PM told a meeting: “We can’t have the b*****ks of consulting with employees and trade unions. They need to come back to work. All the malingering work shy people.”

Did Matt Hancock repeatedly lie when Health Secretary?

One of the things that has been raised time and time again by key witnesses is Matt Hancock not telling the truth to ministers and officials during the crisis. Sir Patrick said the former Health Secretary had a "habit of saying things" that weren't true, while former Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill said he urged Mr Johnson to sack him.

Ex-Deputy Cabinet Secretary Helen MacNamara said he displayed "nuclear levels" of overconfidence. Mr Johnson will be asked to clear up Mr Hancock’s claim last week that he told him a lockdown was necessary on March 13 2020, 10 days before a lockdown was eventually announced. No evidence has been provided to back up his version of events.

Were you 'bamboozled' by the science during the pandemic?

One of the most unexpected things to emerge from the inquiry was the claim Mr Johnson asked scientists if people could kill Covid by blowing a hairdryer up their nose. Sir Patrick, who was Chief Scientific Adviser, has said Mr Johnson was often “bamboozled” by graphs and that watching him “get his head round stats is awful." He told the inquiry: “I think I’m right in saying that the Prime Minister gave up science at 15. I think he’d be the first to admit it wasn’t his forte and that he struggled with the concepts and we did need to repeat them — often.”

Was Carrie Johnson really in charge?

Among the many WhatsApps to be published was a message in which Cabinet Secretary Simon Case joked that the PM’s wife Carrie Johnson was "the real person in charge" during the pandemic. In the exchange in October 2020, he wrote: “Not sure I can cope today… I'm going to scream." Lee Cain, who was No10 director of communications, replied: "Sigh. Wtf are we talking about."

The top civil servant responded: "Whatever Carrie wants I guess." In another message he joked: "I was always told Dom [Cummings] was the secret PM. How wrong they are. I look forward to telling select cttee tomorrow 'oh f*** no, don't worry about Dom. The real person in charge is Carrie'.”

Do you regret parties in Downing Street?

The inquiry has heard that No10 became “toxic” and “dysfunctional” under Mr Johnson’s leadership. In a WhatsApp in June 2020, Mr Case wrote : “It is like taming wild animals. Nothing in my past experience has prepared me for this madness. The PM and the people he chooses to surround himself with are basically feral.” Mr Johnson will be asked if he regrets the culture that was allowed on his watch, including the scandal of lockdown-busting parties first exposed by the Mirror. These including his 56th birthday celebration, for which he was fined by the Metropolitan Police.