COVID INQUIRY
Boris Johnson was told to sack ‘lying’ Matt Hancock, Covid inquiry told
Senior civil servant says former health secretary did not tell the truth in meetings and the lack of confidence in him was ‘damaging’
Matt Hancock was described as having shown a “destructive” lack of candour
CHRIS J RATCLIFFE/GETTY IMAGES
Britain’s most senior civil servant joked at the start of the Covid pandemic that Boris Johnson should sack Matt Hancock to “save lives and protect the NHS”, and branded the prime minister’s aides “brutal and useless”.
Lord Sedwill, who was cabinet secretary at the start of the pandemic in 2020, accused the health secretary of lacking “truthfulness”, saying that officials had to double check claims he made in meetings.
The Covid inquiry also heard that Sedwill had sent private messages to Simon Case, then the permanent secretary in No 10, in which he said Hancock was “so far up BJ’s [Johnson’s] arse his ankles are brown”.
The former cabinet secretary said that he did not formally advise Johnson to sack Hancock but that the prime
