COVID inquiry hears former Civil Service head wanted Matt Hancock removed as health secretary in pandemic
Sedwill’s messages aren’t expletive-filled – but they’re still damaging
Matt Hancock has been subject to vigorous criticism from many witnesses at the inquiry – particularly Dominic Cummings. But this afternoon we’ve had the extraordinary revelation that Lord Sedwill as head of the Civil Service advised the prime minister that he should be sacked in May 2020.
Messages exchanged between the cabinet secretary and the man who would become his successor, Simon Case, are pretty damning, including “the British system doesn’t work if ministers lie” and “totally incompetent”. It’s not as coarse as Cummings’ descriptions of him as a “c***” and a “proven liar” – but the message is the same.
Asked how damaging this loss of confidence in Hancock was for the functioning of government, Sedwill doesn’t mince his words. “It was clearly damaging”, he explains, describing the impact of questions about his lack of “candour, overpromising, overconfidence, over assurance”.
Once again the former head of the Civil Service apologises for the language and comments he made in private conversations, acknowledging that “it was gallows humour, I recognise it was inappropriate even in a private exchange”.
Instead of Hancock, however, it was Sedwill who ended up having to leave government, just months after these conversations. The health secretary was hoisted by his own petard a year later, after breaking COVID rules in kissing an aide and being caught on camera.
But Sedwill’s overwhelming frustration with his Number 10 colleagues – and evident desire to leave – is clearly expressed in other messages exchanged with Case at the start of May, as they discuss whether Case would be willing to step in as his successor, and Case says he is not willing to work for Cummings.
Patrick Vallance, then the government’s chief scientific adviser, noted in his diary that Sedwill described the administration as “brutal and useless”.
A month later, Case messages Sedwill to say: “It is like taming wild animals. Nothing in my past experience has prepared me for this madness. The PM and the people he chooses to surround himself with are basically feral.” Sedwill replies: “I’ve got the bite marks.”
We’ve already had chapter and verse on the toxicity of the Johnson-Cummings Downing Street operation in the past few weeks of the inquiry – but for the two men who headed up the Civil Service during this period to describe their colleagues as feral is perhaps a new low.
The FA has launched an investigation into allegations that suspended Premier League referee David Coote discussed giving a yellow card ahead of a match.
Mr Coote booked Leeds player Ezgjan Alioski during a match against West Brom in October 2019.
The Sun claims that the day before, he discussed carding the player with a Leeds fan he had met online, then after the game messaged him saying: “I hope you backed as discussed.”
Mr Coote insists nothing improper took place.
He said in a statement: “I strongly refute these false and defamatory allegations.
“Whatever issues I may have had in my personal life they have never affected my decision-making on the field.
“I have always held the integrity of the game in the highest regard, refereeing matches impartially and to the best of my ability.”
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The previous comments Coote made about Liverpool
An investigation has now been opened to get to the bottom of the claims surrounding the already-suspended referee.
Previously, a video emerged showing Mr Coote snorting a white powder.
That came after another video showed Mr Coote in a foul-mouthed rant about Liverpool FC and their then-boss Jurgen Klopp.
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After the most recent allegations, a spokesperson for Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) told Sky Sports News: “The facts need to be established in light of these very serious allegations.
“We adopt a zero-tolerance approach to any breach of our Integrity Code of Conduct, which is signed by all match officials on an annual basis.
“PGMOL Board is committed to taking the appropriate action should any breach of that Code be proven.
“David Coote remains suspended and subject to an ongoing disciplinary process by PGMOL, separate to the investigation into this matter which will be carried out independently by The FA.”
It added: “We will be making no further comment at this stage.”
Davina McCall has said she is feeling “stronger and stronger” every day after having brain tumour surgery.
In an update posted to Instagram, the TV presenter emphasised the importance of sleep during her recovery after having a benign brain tumour, known as a colloid cyst, removed.
Sporting a bruised left eye, McCall said she is being “brilliantly” looked after by her boyfriend, hairdresser Michael Douglas, and stepmum Gabby and is “just trying to sleep a lot” and “get better”.
Earlier this week, the star said she was suffering with short-term memory problems, due to the operation. But on Wednesday, she said that her memory is now “improving”.
“My short-term memory is really improving a lot every day,” she said, adding: “It has been an example to me of how much sleep helps me recover from everything.
Pic: Instagram/Davina McCall
“If I feel a bit confused or I’m struggling to concentrate, I just got to sleep, and I wake up just completely renewed and refreshed.
“I know that my brain needs lots of sleep.”
The 57-year-old ended the update by thanking fans for their “ongoing support”.
‘Out of the woods’
Speaking during a livestream on Tuesday, McCall’s partner Douglas said the star is “definitely out of the woods” during her recovery.
McCall with her partner Michael Douglas and her daughter Holly Robertson. Pic: PA
“She’s quite tired at the moment. She sleeps really well at night and goes to bed at 10pm and has a nap in the morning, and sleeps for two or three hours in the afternoon,” he said.
He added that the presenter is off work until mid-January and has “a lot of time to relax and recuperate”.
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Douglas told fans: “It’s been a very, very emotional and quite an incredible experience. We’re definitely out of the woods.”
McCall rose to fame presenting on MTV in the mid-1990s, and later on Channel 4’s Streetmate, before becoming a household name as the host of Big Brother from 2000 to 2010.
She has lived with Douglas since 2022, and together they present a weekly lifestyle podcast called Making The Cut.
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