Devendra Kumar
Boris Johnson apologized to Matt Hancock for hiring Dominic Cummings and the damage the ex-adviser caused to the UK’s Covid response, according to England’s former health secretary. Hancock made this claim in his written evidence to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, which was published after he finished giving evidence in person on Friday. Hancock’s written submission provides further details about Cummings’ alleged behavior during the pandemic response.
Hancock described Cummings as a “malign actor” who subjected his staff to abuse as they grappled with the emergence of the virus. He claimed that Cummings attempted to centralize power to himself and worked without Johnson’s approval during the pandemic response. Hancock also hinted that Cummings may have been behind leaks from within Downing Street, suggesting that they stopped when Johnson and his de facto chief-of-staff were both ill with coronavirus in the spring of 2020.
Hancock criticized Cummings’ decision-making as “known to be erratic” and labeled his alleged decision to continue holding in place a ban on British government ministers appearing on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme at the start of the pandemic as “beyond ridiculous.” He stated that the then-prime minister has apologized to him for appointing his chief adviser and for the damage he did to the response to Covid-19.
In his written comments, Hancock expanded on his earlier criticisms of Cummings. He described Cummings as attempting to exert influence over decision-making in a way that was “inappropriate in a democracy.” Hancock claimed that Cummings instigated a decision-making process from No 10, which he insisted supplanted prime ministerial decision-making. He also stated that senior figures in No 10, including Cummings, were not aligned with Johnson, but yet were issuing instructions “as if they had the prime minister’s full authority.”
Hancock referenced the period in April 2020 when Raab was put in charge while Johnson and Cummings were ill with Covid. He stated that the “proper lines of accountability were respected far more in this time” and that ministers did not play politics and advisers did not leak government decisions to the media in order to get their own way or exert disproportionate influence on decision-making.
Hancock’s testimony provides a damning assessment of Cummings’ role in the UK’s Covid response and Johnson’s leadership during the pandemic.