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Boris Johnson’s former aide Dominic Cummings will appear before the Covid inquiry on Tuesday.
Cummings, who served as Johnson’s senior adviser, and former communications leader Lee Cain are the high-profile political figures who will testify at the inquiry this week.
Martin Reynolds, Johnson’s chief secretary who sent an invitation to a “bring your own drink” rally at Garden 10, will also testify.
Cummings has publicly criticized Cummings’ approach in the past. Johnson, adding his reluctance to sign a second national lockdown in late 2020.
This comes amid reports that sexist messages allegedly sent through Cummings and Johnson are expected to be made public in this week’s investigation.
Former Conservative chancellor George Osborne said the exchanges could further tarnish the government’s reputation.
Speaking on the Political Currency podcast, Osborne said: “From what I understand, some pretty astonishing things have been said in those WhatsApp messages, just through Boris Johnson, but through key advisers like Dominic Cummings.
“Language really quite disgusting and misogynistic. And I think if you don’t think very carefully about this era of government, you’re going to have an even less positive view after hearing those messages next week.
A spokesperson for Johnson reportedly denied that the former minister had sent misogynistic messages.
Reports also claim that messages may be released through Britain’s top senior official, Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, accusing Johnson of being “crazy” in July 2022, when the then-prime minister was pushing for an end to social distancing.
A WhatsApp exchange at the time revealed that Case had said Johnson wanted to claim “we’re done with Covid”. Case was quoted as saying the claim would be “crazy and damaging on the Trump-Bolsonaro level,” referring to former U. S. and Brazilian presidents Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro.
Cummings was Johnson’s closest aide at the start of the pandemic. The government was forced to protect him after he visited Barnard Castle, an attractive place in County Durham, the first lockdown.
But he left Downing Street in November 2020 after a falling out with Johnson and has since criticised the former prime minister, suggesting he was hesitant in the reaction to Covid.
Cummings used his most recent post on Substack to reveal that he had reviewed his with the lawyers in charge of the investigation and called the procedure “painful. “
“After all I sent it on Thursday. I attest on 10/31,” he wrote earlier this month.