The UK’s most senior civil servant is expected to indicate he has not cleared Boris Johnson’s former adviser Dominic Cummings over the so-called “chatty rat” leak of plans for a second lockdown.
Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, is expected to say his inquiry into the leak last autumn is still “live” when he appears before the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC).
Mr Cummings has accused Mr Johnson of seeking to block the investigation after learning that a close friend of his fiancee Carrie Symonds had been implicated, a claim the Prime Minister denied.
Cabinet secretary Simon Case is expected to tell MPs his leak inquiry is still ‘live’ (Stefan Rousseau/PA
The new(ish) Cabinet Secretary had just been accused by MPs of being evasive.
Eh? Civil servants being tricksy? Choke! Cough! Splutter! Who could even think such a thing?
Mr Case had been summoned before the public affairs committee to answer questions on sleaze. I use the word ‘answer’ rather loosely – the session was a two-hour tutorial in prevarication. A masterclass in obfuscation. Sir Humphrey Appleby would have been proud. Opening salvos concentrated on his hunt for the leaker of the decision last October to institute a second national lockdown – the so-called ‘chatty rat’.
Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary and the UK s most senior civil servant, giving evidence on the work of the Cabinet Office to the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC)
Ministers have denied claims that Boris Johnson was prepared to let “bodies pile high” rather than order another coronavirus lockdown, as the fallout from Downing Street’s bitter briefing war continued.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said it was “not true” to suggest Mr Johnson made that comment, while Health Minister Nadine Dorries said it was an “outright lie”.
The remarks were reportedly made after the Prime Minister agreed to a second lockdown, and suggest Mr Johnson was prepared to face a mounting death toll rather than order a third set of tough restrictions, something he was eventually forced to do.
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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is accused of saying he would rather “let the bodies pile high in their thousands” than order another lockdown.
The incendiary remark was allegedly made after Mr Johnson reluctantly imposed a second lockdown in October.
Downing Street denied the claim in a short statement on Sunday night: “This is just another lie.”
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Daily Mail, citing unnamed sources, reported that the comment was made after Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove warned Mr Johnson that soldiers would be needed to guard hospitals overwhelmed by Covid patients.
The prime minister is said to have lost his temper after agreeing to a second lockdown as he insisted there would not be a third.
Ministers scrambled to shore up Boris Johnson amid his spiralling war with Dominic Cummings today - condemning comedy claims the PM said he would rather see bodies piling up than lock down again.
No10 has furiously denied allegations that Mr Johnson made the remark in a fit of pique after agreeing the second round of brutal coronavirus restrictions last year.
The claims emerged in the Daily Mail amid an increasingly damaging battle with Mr Cummings, his former chief aide - although the identity of the source was not disclosed. Tories are alarmed that the spate of briefings could mean mutually assured destruction and harm the party at crucial elections next week.