Boris Johnson and his former adviser Dominic Cummings despatched “disgusting and misogynistic” WhatsApp messages that shall be launched by the COVID inquiry subsequent week, George Osborne has claimed.
The former Tory chancellor mentioned he understands that some “pretty astonishing and frankly, shocking” messages shall be made public when Mr Cummings provides proof on the hearings on the finish of the month.
Speaking on the Political Currency podcast, Mr Osborne mentioned the messages “will show people just what a complete nightmare it was” to work in Downing Street through the pandemic and “potentially some things that are going to cause some real problems for individuals who were in charge at the time”.
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Pressed for particulars by his co-host Ed Balls, he mentioned he needed to “be careful here because it’s a judicial inquiry”.
But he added: “From what I understand, there are some pretty staggering things that have been said on those WhatsApp messages by not just by Boris Johnson, but key advisers like Dominic Cummings, really, pretty disgusting language and misogynistic language.
“But I believe that is all I can say as a result of I’ve already appeared as soon as earlier than the COVID inquiry and I do not wish to seem once more earlier than it.”
Mr Johnson and Mr Cummings haven’t commented on the claims.
A string of embarrassing messages have already been launched to the inquiry, together with how Mr Johnson described lengthy COVID as “b*******” and that his spouse, Carrie, had been described as “the real person in charge” by the top of the UK’s civil service.
Mr Cummings has mentioned he is because of give proof on October 31.
He was Mr Johnson’s closest aide when the pandemic hit, and the federal government was pressured to defend him after he drove to County Durham magnificence spot Barnard Castle through the first lockdown.
He left Downing Street in November 2020 following infighting in No 10 and has since grow to be a fierce critic of the previous prime minister, suggesting he was indecisive within the response to coronavirus.
The COVID inquiry started this summer season and has up to now heard proof from Mr Osborne and ex-prime minister David Cameron – who had been grilled on the impression of their austerity programme on the NHS and its capacity to plan for a pandemic.
The first a part of the inquiry seemed on the UK’s resilience and preparedness for a pandemic whereas the second half, which began this month, focuses on “core decision making and political governance” and also will see Mr Johnson give proof.
As a part of the inquiry, key determination makers – together with ministers, former ministers and senior civil servants – have been requested to reveal communications, together with these by way of casual channels equivalent to WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams or Signal.
Separately, it emerged this week that the “majority” of WhatsApp messages shared amongst Scottish Government officers through the pandemic might have been deleted.
Jamie Dawson KC – the lead counsel within the Scotland module of the inquiry – informed the listening to on Thursday that “although WhatsApps appear to have been used to send messages relating to and surrounding key decisions by some members of Scottish Government, the majority of the messages have not been retained by witnesses”.
Mr Dawson went on to say there’s a “lack of certainty” round what supplies are held by the federal government and its officers, the place it’s held, and what could be recovered, and the inquiry has sought extra details about the circumstances during which the messages weren’t retained.
The UK authorities was taken to court docket after it refused handy over Mr Johnson’s messages to the inquiry, stating the messages had been irrelevant.
However, the excessive court docket dominated in opposition to the cupboard workplace, stating it was as much as Baroness Hallett, the chair of the inquiry, to resolve whether or not the fabric was related or not.
Lady Hallett has mentioned she is “very concerned about the difficulties” in acquiring the messages from the Scottish authorities, and she or he “will not hesitate” to make use of “statutory powers” at her disposal to acquire the related data.
Source: information.sky.com”