Diana Enyenihi
The COVID inquiry was established post-pandemic, to investigate the flaws and errors regarding the government’s overall response. It was given the right by the Inquiries Act 2005 to access evidence through documents and witnesses, including two years’ worth of WhatsApp chats between government officials.
These messages help to paint a picture of the dynamic within No. 10.
They have contributed to the previous narrative surrounding Carrie Johnson, and her alleged ability to influence her PM husband’s (Boris Johnson) decision making, sometimes overnight.
Simon Case described Carrie as “the real person in charge”
Revealed from one of the WhatsApp groups, Senior Civil Servant Simon Case replied to being asked what was due to be discussed one day, with “Whatever Carrie cares about, I guess,”.
In another message, Simon Case described Carrie as “the real person in charge“.
Evidence given by epidemiologist Professor Neil Ferguson of Imperial College London, whose virus modelling influenced decision-making about the first lockdown, picks up on the poor communication between the government and scientists.
Adds more context to the decisions made
Dr. Fereguson pointed to an an artificial divide between ‘scientific advice and then operational planning and response’.
This evidence adds more context to the decisions made during the pandemic. More revelations are expected to emerge as investigation continues.
Diana Enyenihi
Featured image courtesy of Jordhan Madec via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
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