Johnson and Cummings sent ‘disgusting and misogynistic’ WhatsApps during COVID pandemic, ex-chancellor claims
Boris Johnson and his former adviser Dominic Cummings sent “disgusting and misogynistic” WhatsApp messages that will be released by the COVID inquiry next week, George Osborne has claimed.
The former Tory chancellor said he understands that some “pretty astonishing and frankly, shocking” messages will be made public when Mr Cummings gives evidence at the hearings at the end of the month.
Speaking on the Political Currency podcast, Mr Osborne said the messages “will show people just what a complete nightmare it was” to work in Downing Street during 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 details by his co-host Ed Balls, he said he had 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 think that’s all I can say because I’ve already appeared once before the COVID inquiry and I don’t want to appear again before it.”
Mr Johnson and Mr Cummings have not commented on the claims.
A string of embarrassing messages have already been released to the inquiry, including how Mr Johnson described long COVID as “b*******” and that his wife, Carrie, had been described as “the real person in charge” by the head of the UK’s civil service.
Mr Cummings has said he is due to give evidence on October 31.
He was Mr Johnson’s closest aide when the pandemic hit, and the government was forced to defend him after he drove to County Durham beauty spot Barnard Castle during the first lockdown.
He left Downing Street in November 2020 following infighting in No 10 and has since become a fierce critic of the former prime minister, suggesting he was indecisive in the response to coronavirus.
The COVID inquiry began this summer and has so far heard evidence from Mr Osborne and ex-prime minister David Cameron – who were grilled on the impact of their austerity programme on the NHS and its ability to plan for a pandemic.
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George Osborne tells the COVID inquiry that there was no planning for a lockdown and that ‘with hindsight’ more could have been done to budget for one.
The first part of the inquiry looked at the UK’s resilience and preparedness for a pandemic while the second part, which started this month, focuses on “core decision making and political governance” and will also see Mr Johnson give evidence.
As part of the inquiry, key decision makers – including ministers, former ministers and senior civil servants – have been asked to disclose communications, including those through informal channels such as WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams or Signal.
Separately, it emerged this week that the “majority” of WhatsApp messages shared among Scottish Government officials during the pandemic may have been deleted.
Jamie Dawson KC – the lead counsel in the Scotland module of the inquiry – told the hearing 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 is a “lack of certainty” around what materials are held by the government and its officials, where it is held, and what can be recovered, and the inquiry has sought more information about the circumstances in which the messages were not retained.
The UK government was taken to court after it refused to hand over Mr Johnson’s messages to the inquiry, stating the messages were irrelevant.
However, the high court ruled against the cabinet office, stating it was up to Baroness Hallett, the chair of the inquiry, to decide whether the material was relevant or not.
Lady Hallett has said she is “very concerned about the difficulties” in obtaining the messages from the Scottish government, and she “will not hesitate” to use “statutory powers” at her disposal to obtain the relevant information.
The cryptocurrency market may see a local bottom in the next two months amid global uncertainty over ongoing import tariff negotiations, which have been limiting investor sentiment in both traditional and digital markets.
US President Donald Trump is set to detail on April 2 his reciprocal import tariffs, measures aimed at reducing the country’s estimated trade deficit of $1.2 trillion in goods and boosting domestic manufacturing.
While global markets took a hit from the first tariff announcement, there is a 70% chance for cryptocurrency valuations to find their bottom by June, according to Aurelie Barthere, principal research analyst at the Nansen crypto intelligence platform.
The research analyst told Cointelegraph:
“Nansen data estimates a 70% probability that crypto prices will bottom between now and June, with BTC and ETH currently trading 15% and 22% below their year-to-date highs, respectively. Given this data, upcoming discussions will serve as crucial market indicators.”
“Once the toughest part of the negotiation is behind us, we see a cleaner opportunity for crypto and risk assets to finally mark a bottom,” she added.
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Both traditional and cryptocurrency markets continue to lack upside momentum ahead of the US tariff announcement.
BTC/USD, 1-day chart. Source: Nansen
“For the main US equity indexes and for BTC, the respective price charts failed to resurface above their 200-day moving averages significantly, while lower-lookback price moving averages are falling,” wrote Nansen in an April 1 research report.
“Fragile market psychology highlights the necessity of “good news,” mainly on US growth and on tariffs,” added the report.
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Bitcoin needs to hold $82k amid crypto market “wait and see” mode: analyst
Investors are currently in “wait and see mode” and are hesitant to take on large positions as markets lack direction.
However, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index remained above the “extreme fear” mark for a third consecutive session, which suggests a marginal improvement despite continued caution, Stella Zlatareva, dispatch editor at digital asset investment platform Nexo, told Cointelegraph.
“This reinforces the view that markets are in a wait-and-see mode,” Zlatareva told Cointelegraph, adding:
“Bitcoin continues to consolidate within the $82,000 – $85,000 range after experiencing a period of directional recalibration in Q1. The asset is navigating this zone with key support at $82,000 and upside potential toward $86,500 and $90,000 if broader sentiment stabilizes.”
Other traders are awaiting a Bitcoin breakout above $84,500 as a signal for more upside momentum amid the ongoing tariff uncertainty.
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Investment company VanEck filed to register a Delaware trust company for an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking Binance-linked BNB cryptocurrency.
VanEck, on March 31, registered a new entity under the name VanEck BNB ETF in Delaware, according to public records on the official Delaware state website.
In filing 10148820, the entity is registered as a trust corporate service company in Delaware, hinting at a potential spot BNB (BNB) ETF in the United States.
VanEck BNB ETF trust registration in Delaware. Source: Delaware.gov
According to social media reports, VanEck is the first company to propose a potential BNB ETF in the US, potentially signaling an expansion of BNB Chain — formerly known as Binance Chain — across traditional financial products in the market.
BNB ETP product already exists in Europe
While VanEck is the first to move toward a potential BNB ETF product in the US, similar products have been trading in Europe for several years.
Prominent European crypto asset manager 21Shares launched a BNB exchange-traded product (ETP) in Switzerland in October 2019, according to TradingView.
21Shares BNB ETP details. Source: TradingView
TradingView data suggests that 21Shares BNB ETP has only $15 million in assets under management (AUM), a 0.3% share of Switzerland’s total crypto AUM of $5.3 billion as of March 28, as reported by CoinShares.
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The product reportedly saw a significant drop in fund flows in the past year, totaling 537 million euros, or $580 million.
What is BNB?
Formerly known as Binance Coin, BNB is the native digital asset of the BNB Chain, which is now described as a “community-driven and decentralized blockchain ecosystem for Web3 decentralized applications.”
BNB was launched by Binance in July 2017 as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain as a tool to incentivize users to trade on their platform and pay for fees at a discounted rate.
Five top crypto assets by market capitalization. Source: CoinGecko
At the time of writing, BNB is the fifth-largest cryptocurrency asset by market capitalization, worth about $88 billion, according to CoinGecko.
Altcoin filings surge with Trump administration
VanEck’s BNB ETF trust filing is just one of many new US altcoin ETF filings and registrations that have followed Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration in January.
In early March, VanEck registered a similar Delaware trust for an ETF tracking the price of Avalanche (AVAX), also becoming one of the first companies to register such a trust.
Many ETF issuers have filed for an XRP (XRP) ETF with the Securities and Exchange Commission, with at least nine companies submitting standalone XRP ETF filings as of March 12.
Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered
The US Securities and Exchange Commission and crypto exchange Gemini have asked to pause the regulator’s suit over the exchange’s Gemini Earn program, saying they want to discuss a potential resolution.
In an April 1 letter to New York federal court judge Edgardo Ramos, lawyers representing the SEC and Genesis requested a 60-day hold on the case and that all deadlines be pulled “to allow the parties to explore a potential resolution.”
“In this case, the parties submit that it is in each of their interests to stay this matter while they consider a potential resolution and agree that no party or non-party would be prejudiced by a stay,” the letter states.
The lawyers added that a stay was in the court’s interest as “a resolution would conserve judicial resources” and proposed that a joint status report be submitted within 60 days after the entry of the stay.
The SEC sued Gemini and crypto lending firm Genesis Global Capital in January 2023, alleging they offered unregistered securities through the Gemini Earn program.
In March 2024, Genesis agreed to pay $21 million to settle charges related to the lending program, but the enforcement case against Gemini remains outstanding.
Letter from SEC and Genesis Global requesting extension of stay. Source: CourtListener
The letter did not specify what a possible resolution would entail, but the SEC has dropped several lawsuits it launched against crypto companies under the Biden administration, including against Coinbase, Ripple and Kraken.
Related: Will new US SEC rules bring crypto companies onshore?
In February, Gemini said the SEC closed a separate investigation into the firm as the regulator winds back its crypto enforcement under President Donald Trump.
“The SEC cost us tens of millions of dollars in legal bills alone and hundreds of millions in lost productivity, creativity, and innovation. Of course, Gemini is not alone,” Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss said at the time.
OpenSea, Crypto.com and Uniswap, among others, have also recently reported that the SEC had closed similar probes into their companies that were investigating alleged breaches of securities laws.
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