"I was told that Dom was the secret PM. How wrong they are. I look forward to telling select cttee tomorrow - “oh fuck no, don’t worry about Dom, the real person in charge is Carrie.”

Bombshell WhatsApp messages from November 2020 which were revealed earlier today at the Covid Inquiry, show that Britain’s top civil servant claimed that Boris Johnson’s wife, Carrie, was really running the country at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Simon Case made the remark in WhatsApp exchanges with former No.10 spin doctor Lee Cain and Dominic Cummings, who was Johnson’s chief adviser.

The inquiry has already heard earlier this week how Cabinet turmoil was a key reason for the UK’s ‘dismal’ response to Covid, with former cabinet secretary Gus O’Donnell also telling the inquiry the breaching of Covid rules by those in power “destroyed the [public’s] trust”.

Now Case, who is still Cabinet Secretary, said the government looked like “a terrible, tragic joke” as it tried to deal with the pandemic.

Case posted in a WhatsApp group comprising of himself, former No.10 spin doctor Lee Cain and Dominic Cummings, who was Johnson’s chief adviser, and said: “Am not sure I can cope with today. Might just go home. Matt [Hancock] just called, having spoken to PM.

“According to Matt (so aim off, obvs) PM has asked Matt to work up regional circuit breakers for the North (as per Northern Ireland) today – and to bring recommendations. I am going to scream.”

Cain replied: “Sigh. wtf are we talking about.”

Case then said: “Whatever Carrie cares about I guess.”

In a later message, Case added: “I was told that Dom was the secret PM. How wrong they are. I look forward to telling select cttee tomorrow – “oh fuck no, don’t worry about Dom, the real person in charge is Carrie.”

Cummings replied to the message with a laughter eomji and the words “so true”.

Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward

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