The COVID inquiry has been shown a number of WhatsApp messages, meeting minutes and notes which give an insight into Boris Johnson’s time as prime minister during the pandemic.

They include foul-mouthed WhatsApp messages sent by his then special adviser, Dominic Cummings, texts which show infighting in Number 10, and notes which record how a “very frustrated” Mr Johnson “threw papers down” during a meeting.

The messages and notes were shown during Mr Johnson’s appearance before the inquiry on Wednesday.

Johnson COVID evidence live: Number 10 got ‘very frazzled’

Here is what they show:

Cummings says Hancock ‘unfit for the job’

In one expletive-ridden WhatsApp message sent by Mr Cummings in May 2020, he told Mr Johnson that Matt Hancock was “unfit for the job” of health secretary.

“The incompetence, the constant lies, the obsession with media b******t over doing his job,” he wrote.

“Still no f******g serious testing in care homes, his uselessness is still killing God knows how many.”

Mr Hancock resigned as health secretary after he breached his own social distancing guidance by kissing a colleague in his office.

‘Very frustrated’ Johnson ‘threw papers down’

Extracts from the notebook of Sir Patrick Vallance, then the chief scientific adviser to the UK government, from October 2020, give an insight into the conflict inside Downing Street during the pandemic.

The notes are from a meeting with Mr Johnson on 25 October, days before the second national lockdown was announced in England.

According to the extracts from the notebook, Mr Johnson became “very frustrated” and started “throwing papers down”.

Sir Patrick noted that Mr Johnson began to argue for a “let it [COVID] rip strategy” and suggested there would be more casualties, but “they have had a good innings”.

The notes also reported Mr Johnson opposed a second national lockdown, but was told that if he did go down that route he would “need to tell them [people] that you are going to allow people to die”.

According to Sir Patrick’s notes, Mr Cummings told the meeting that “Rishi [Sunak] thinks just let people die and that’s okay.

“This feels like a complete lack of leadership.”

The conclusion of the meeting, according to Sir Patrick’s notes, was to “beef up” the tier system of lockdowns and consider a second national lockdown – which was eventually announced on 31 October.

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

Read more from Sky News:
Key points so far as Boris Johnson gives evidence to COVID inquiry
People removed from COVID inquiry as Boris Johnson interrupted

Hugo Keith KC, counsel for the inquiry, asked Mr Johnson if he accepted it was “extraordinary” that the government’s chief advisers were “all commenting in these terms about competence and performance”.

Mr Johnson said: “No. I think this is wholly to be expected. This is a period in which the country is going through a resurgence of the virus… and Patrick talks about inconsistency.

“We’ve just go to face the reality… that the virus seems to be refusing to be suppressed by the measures we have used to far.”

‘It’s probably out of control now,’ says Cummings

In February 2020, Mr Cummings sent a message to a WhatsApp group known as the “Number 10 Action Group”, in which he said COVID was “probably out of control now”.

In a message on 6 February 2020, Dominic Cummings wrote: “Need briefing on corona [tomorrow]. Chief scientist told me today it’s [probably] out of control now and will sweep world. Will be major [communications] exercise.”

Lord Edward Lister, then Downing Street chief of staff, added the following morning: “Dom is right the comms is key and we have to look at all times that we have a plan and thought it through.”

Asked at the inquiry why there was such a focus on communications when they understood the virus was “out of control”, Mr Johnson said: “When you read that an Asiatic pandemic is about to sweep the world, you think you’ve heard it before. That was the problem.”

He said at that stage the scientific community in Whitehall was not telling him “this was something that was going to require urgent and immediate action”.

Mr Johnson said they could “see the mathematical implications of the reasonable worst-case scenario” but “the problem was we didn’t think – and this was our mistake – it was very likely to happen”.

When challenged, Mr Johnson agreed that former Asiatic epidemics did not have a 2% fatality rate, and added: “The tragedy is that we were operating… on a fallacious, inductive logic about previous reasonable worst-case scenarios and this one.

“And this one was where… almost the worst predictions turned out to be correct.”

‘I unquestionably made mistakes,’ says Johnson

In his witness statement to the inquiry, Mr Johnson acknowledged that “unquestionably mistakes were made”, which he “unreservedly” apologised for.

“There was terrible suffering, which we did our best to alleviate, and, where we failed I apologise again,” he wrote.

Mr Keith KC asked at the inquiry which mistakes Mr Johnson was referring to in his statement.

Mr Johnson said it was broadly around messaging, and particularly different messaging coming from Number 10 and the devolved administrations.

Mr Keith listed key decisions taken during the pandemic and asked whether Mr Johnson took responsibility for them.

“Do you take responsibility for lockdown decisions and timeliness?” he asked.

“Of course,” Mr Johnson replied.

Infighting within Number 10

A series of WhatsApp messages between two top civil servants which revealed a split between top figures within Number 10 was shown to Mr Johnson at the inquiry.

The messages were sent between Downing Street permanent secretary, Simon Case, and then head of the civil service, Sir Mark Sedwill, in July 2020.

In one set of messages, Mr Case complained that Mr Cummings had briefed the press about the government’s plans, having been told “multiple times” by Mr Johnson to “stop talking to the media”.

“And then this stuff happens. This place is just insane. Zero discipline.”

He later wrote: “I’ve never seen a bunch of people less-equipped to run a country.”

Asked at the inquiry about the messages, Mr Johnson said WhatsApp messages like this tended to be “hyperbolical” and that had messages like this been released about the Margaret Thatcher government they would have been “fruity”.

“The worst vice, in my view, would have been to have had an operation where everybody was so deferential and so reluctant to make waves that they never expressed their opinions, they never challenged or never doubted,” Mr Johnson said.

“It was much more important to have a group of people that were willing to doubt themselves and doubt each other. And I think that was creatively useful, rather than the reverse.”

Related posts:

PM pledges to end ‘catastrophic costs’ of social care with national insurance rise What are the changes to social care and how much will people have to pay? Scottish government to restart work on ‘detailed prospectus’ for independence, Nicola Sturgeon says There’s relief in Number 10 but they are not celebrating Johnson’s partygate survival just yet Woman angrily confronts health secretary over ‘people dying’ due to ambulance waits Truss changes tack over energy bills after previously saying she favours tax cuts over handouts Who is proposing what to tackle soaring energy bills? UK cannot afford net zero pledge ‘in the short run’, minister says ‘What a day!’ Chancellor admits fiscal plan caused ‘a little turbulence’ Service levels during ambulance strikes put public safety at risk, minister says Conservatives have ‘great opportunity’ despite local election losses and infighting, says Shapps Rishi Sunak reported to police over party conference joke