to patrick vallance was in early april and iti vallance was in early april and it might— vallance was in early april and it might be helpful to you if- vallance was in early april and it might be helpful to you if i - vallance was in early april and it . might be helpful to you if i explain what happens _ might be helpful to you if i explain what happens when _ might be helpful to you if i explain what happens when an _ might be helpful to you if i explainl what happens when an organisation like downing — what happens when an organisation like downing street, _ what happens when an organisation like downing street, which - what happens when an organisation like downing street, which is - what happens when an organisation like downing street, which is when| like downing street, which is when the government— like downing street, which is when the government goes _ like downing street, which is when the government goes into - like downing street, which is when the government goes into crisis i like downing street, which is whenl the government goes into crisis and how that _ the governme

— vallance possum evening notes, his diaries, as well as _ vallance possum evening notes, his diariesnquiry show that the notion - notebooks and e—mails close to the inquiry show that the notion of - inquiry show that the notion of there — inquiry show that the notion of there being _ inquiry show that the notion of there being a _ inquiry show that the notion of there being a public— inquiry show that the notion of there being a public inquiry- inquiry show that the notion ofl there being a public inquiry first appeared — there being a public inquiry first appeared in— there being a public inquiry first appeared in the _ there being a public inquiry first appeared in the general- there being a public inquiry first. appeared in the general discourse around _ appeared in the general discourse around about _ appeared in the general discourse around about the _ appeared in the general discourse around about the end _ appeared in the general discourse around about the end of- appeared in the general discourse around about the end of 2020, i appeared in the general discourse around about t

insight into downing street during the pandemic as the diaries of key scientific adviser sir patrick vallance published at the covid inquiry. delay the game, delay the game. they've restarted the game. and made public after liverpool's defeat by tottenham at the weekend — the disarray behind the scenes as match officials wrongly deprived liverpool of a goal. and on newsnight at 10:30... we'll go deeper behind the headlines and speak live to key players on today's big stories. plus — a first look at tomorrow's front pages. good evening. after weeks of speculation — we understand tonight that the prime minister is going to scrap the plans to build the h52 high speed rail line between birmingham and manchester. he is expected to make the announcement in manchester at the conservative party conference tomorrow. our political editor chris mason is there for us now. for the last couple of days, the government machine has felt quite low—key, even underpowered, from the prime minister down, when it has come to the announcements they have had to make but tonight, that looks like it is about to change,

now, insert patrick vallance's diaries i insert patrick vallance's diaries for the — insert patrick vallance'sat may be a reference to the _ conference, that may be a reference to the prime — conference, that may be a reference to the prime ministerial press conference. he says, 273901 page 67. chris conference. he says, 273901 page 67. chris whitty _ conference. he says, 273901 page 67. chris whitty and ivor are reluctant to do— chris whitty and ivor are reluctant to do the — chris whitty and ivor are reluctant to do the press conference. it's highly— to do the press conference. it's highly political and will be focused on dominic cummings,. one is to divert— on dominic cummings,. one is to divert from— on dominic cummings,. one is to divert from the dominic cummings fiasco, _ divert from the dominic cummings fiasco, court have gone to durham, clearly _ fiasco, court have gone to durham, clearly gives — fiasco, court have gone to durham, clearly gives the rules, all very worrying — clearly gives the rules, all very worrying. breezy confidence incredibly alarming. in his diaries, sir patrick—

i spoke privately to patrick vallance about things. and review the papers. but it wasn't for a political adviser to start giving sage orders about how it should operate. if start giving sage orders about how it should operate.— it should operate. if you would allow me to — it should operate. if you would allow me to suggest, - it should operate. if you would allow me to suggest, mister . allow me to suggest, mister cummings, you were notjust a political adviser, you were in a position to exercise a significant degree of control and power at the heart of number ten. if you saw there was a problem in terms of the root of the advice and the communications you were receiving, why was this not publicly raised? figs why was this not publicly raised? is you know from the various evidence, i sent ben warner to attend meetings and discuss them. i listened to some of them myself. also from the of january i had at least weekly meetings, sometimes two or three times a week with patrick, where i would talk to him myself about all sorts of things, ab

i vallance as for the need to change course? ., _ .,, ., course? a treat course? i would say there was a great deal _ course? i would say there was a great deal of — course? i would say there was a great deal of confusion - course? i would say there was a great deal of confusion at - course? i would say there was a great deal of confusion at that l great deal of confusion at that meeting in terms of the reactions to it because patrick and i were essentially suggesting the original herd immunity plan had to be ditched. there was anger after the meeting expressed by people in the cabinet office and at dhse, reflecting the fact that they were essentially blindsided. as far as people in the cabinet office and dhse are new, plan a was in place and matt hancock said on the saturday morning, we have got to stick to the plan, and quote, so when patrick and i wielded whiteboard and said we have to go down a different route on the sunday evening i was told after that that patrick vallance was reprimanded by various people and there was a very angry reaction

i don't ounce, never understood why he said this but patrick vallance made extremely clearly to mee mesaged the prime minister, raising concerns, part of the message was put to mr cain earlier, 48313, page 22. you see there, the 12th march date, this is the reference to the need to chair daily meet information the cabinet roomf chair daily meet information the cabinet room f you go over the page, please, to page 23. the overwhelming danger here is being late and the nhs implodes like zombie apocalypse film. not being a week early. what did you mean by that? ., , ., , , that? so, it means the last message? yes. well, at— that? so, it means the last message? yes. well, at this _ that? so, it means the last message? yes. well, at this point, _ that? so, it means the last message? yes. well, at this point, we _ that? so, it means the last message? yes. well, at this point, we had - that? so, it means the last message? yes. well, at this point, we had got . yes. well, at this point, we had got the data i yes. well, at this point, we had got the data i had _ yes. well, at this point, we had

that's what the then chief scientific adviser sir patrick vallance wrote in his diary. also gave evidence today as our political editor chris mason reports. casually dressed, controversial and not exactly shy when it comes to slagging off other people and institutions. how is your eyesight, mr cummings? oh, and you probably remember dominic cummings for driving 260 miles during lockdown and visiting barnard castle in county durham to test his eyesight. i swear by almighty god that the evidence i shall give shall be the truth... mr cummings comes across in public as mild—mannered. he was rather less than that in his private written observations about people he worked alongside. you called ministers useless bleep. morons. bleep. in e—mails and whatsapps to your professional colleagues. my appalling languages is obviously my own. but myjudgement of a lot of senior people was widespread. the questioning lawyer then read out one of mr cummins' whatsapp messages about a very senior female colleague. we cannot keep dealing with this horrific meltdown of the british state while

and even patrick vallance , the even patrick vallance, the doctor, saying that the scientists sayinglance wanted the old to die. originally he was the man who said, we've got to go for herd immunity. we've got to let it all die. all these people forget what they themselves said. and cummings is themselves said. and cummings is the last person with lee kane, a fourth rate expert. journalist the real problem in all this is that boris brought a lot of very disgraceful people into downing street with him. he's appalling choice of people really is one of the reasons for his downfall . of the reasons for his downfall. and vallance was ill equipped for the job, but most awful of all, it was vallance who did not say to boris johnson that public health england was failing in their job. health england was failing in theirjob. the health england was failing in their job. the two women health england was failing in theirjob. the two women running their job. the two women running it were hopeless. the man in charge couldn't even get a job. it was a 13th job. he applied for before he was made head

e—mails number— that sir patrick vallance e—mails number ten that sir patrick vallance e—mails numberten which sir chris whitty had prepared a summary, is that correct? yes. and at the bottom — a summary, is that correct? yes. and at the bottom of— a summary, is that correct? mes and at the bottom of the page we can see that summary, where sir chris is addressing — that summary, where sir chris is addressing a member of downing street. _ addressing a member of downing street, william moore, is he a private — street, william moore, is he a private sector re—? he street, william moore, is he a private sector re-?_ street, william moore, is he a private sector re-? he is a special adviser. this is written informally for you but it _ this is written informally for you but it can — this is written informally for you but it can be turned into more formal— but it can be turned into more formal note for ministers. he is telling — formal note for ministers. he is telling downing street what his take is on the _ telling downing street what his take is on the sage meeting. we are working — is on th

way of dealing with old people' that's what the government's former chief scientist, sir patrick vallanceolitical editor chris mason. casually dressed, controversial and not exactly shy when it comes to slagging off other people and institutions. how is your eyesight, mr cummings? you probably remember dominic cummings for driving 260 miles during lockdown and visiting barnard castle in county durham to test his eyesight. i swear by almighty god the evidence i shall give shall be the truth... he comes across in public as mild—mannered. he was rather less than that in his private written and observations about people who worked alongside. you called ministers useless... morons... bleep. .. in emails and whatsapps to your professional colleagues. my appalling languages oversee my own. myjudgment of a lot of senior people was widespread. and listen to how dominic cummings described a very senior female colleague. we cannot keep dealing with this horrific meltdown in the british state while dodging stilettos from that bleep. was this the correct way to manage fellow professionals? a thousand

we also heard from sir patrick vallance, the chief scientific officer, who said borisjohnson was weakcture of what was going on at the time in downing street, and that was just from one of the backroom advisers, so if it was explosive yesterday, i can tell you todayis explosive yesterday, i can tell you today is likely to be even more so, because lee cain was the then director of communications, so in the room where decisions are being made, but not only that he was responsible for how those messages were then put out to the rest of us. how would we know what these messages were and what these decisions were? and of course dominic cummings, that then chief of staff, who was essentially boris johnson's right—hand man, who then rather went down in flames in effect when lost his job rather went down in flames in effect when lost hisjob in rather went down in flames in effect when lost his job in the rather went down in flames in effect when lost hisjob in the november of 2020 after in effect the pair of them fell out. he has hardly pulled his punches ever since then, and i expect it will

and of course, of course vallance . his course, of course vallance., i think that that we don't talk about he doesn't have to write a diary, but however try again having having god. >> yes. okay. okay. i'm going to try and be uncontroversial . try and be uncontroversial. >> there's a man called vallance. >> okay. >> okay. >> am i doing so far? and he >> how am i doing so far? and he was scientific adviser was the chief scientific adviser to boris. am i all right? >> yeah. yeah i'll let you know. don't anyway the reality don't worry. anyway the reality is he's kept quite is that he's kept quite a careful diary . careful diary. >> but what he's particularly careful about is the things he says about boris suggesting there's a hint of being bipolar because boris will say one thing in the morning and something completely different in the evening. now that is boris, as i have always thought of him. so i'm not really against it. what vallance is saying , but i do vallance is saying, but i do think it's quite damaging for the status and stands of politicians

sir patrick vallance, the government's former chief scientific adviser, made the comments in his diarytive chief whip mark spencer said, "i think we should let the old people get it and protect others." johnson backed this statement, according to sir patrick, allegedly responding: "a lot of my backbenchers think that and, i must say, i agree with them." one of the then—prime minister's closest aides, dominic cummings, told the inquiry that the government had been totally dysfunctional. 0ur political editor chris mason was watching. casually dressed, controversial, and not exactly shy when it comes to slagging off other people and institutions. how's your eyesight, mr cummings? oh, and you probably remember dominic cummings for driving 260 miles during lockdown and visiting barnard castle in county durham to test his eyesight. i swear by almighty god that the evidence i shall give shall be the truth... mr cummings comes across in public as mild—mannered. he was rather less than that in his private written observations about people he worked alongside. you called ministers useless bleep,

way of dealing with old people" — that's what the government's former chief scientist, sir patrick vallanceime minister's closest aides, dominic cummings, told the inquiry that the government had been dysfunctional, and the then director communications said the pandemic had been the wrong crisis for borisjohnson�*s skill set. here's our political editor chris mason. casually dressed, controversial and not exactly shy when it comes to slagging off other people and institutions. how is your eyesight, mr cummings? you probably remember dominic cummings for driving 260 miles during lockdown and visiting barnard castle in county durham to test his eyesight. i castle in county durham to test his e esiuht. , . , castle in county durham to test his eesiuht. , . ,�* , eyesight. i swear by almighty god the evidence _ eyesight. i swear by almighty god the evidence i _ eyesight. i swear by almighty god the evidence i shall— eyesight. i swear by almighty god the evidence i shall give _ eyesight. i swear by almighty god the evidence i shall give shall- eyesight. i swear by almighty god the evidence i sha

, sir patrick vallance.ns in relation to sir structural changes that in your view, were required to be made to the cabinet office, to number 10, to the nsc? why did you not publicly say there is a real problem with the structural route by which sage advises the government and we are not getting a proper understanding of the picture? >> well, i don't think it would have been a good idea for me to say publicly that something like that. but but i do. >> your colleagues in government did that to colleagues, to did say that to colleagues, to colleagues did say that to colleagues, to col|i agues did say that to colleagues, to col|i also spoke to patrick about >> i also spoke to patrick about it, about making the sage. i also had a very strong view that the sage minutes and other documentation should be made pubucin documentation should be made public in february for scrutiny . public in february for scrutiny. and actually patrick was very good about that and patrick completely agreed . completely agreed. unfortuna

do you recall to patrick vallance and others trying to impress on ministers in meetings that this isised with me directl . ., ., ., ,. me directly. could we have on screen 273901, me directly. could we have on screen 273901. page — me directly. could we have on screen 273901, page 164? — me directly. could we have on screen 273901, page 164? this _ me directly. could we have on screen 273901, page 164? this is _ me directly. could we have on screen 273901, page 164? this is an - me directly. could we have on screen 273901, page 1611? this is an entry i 273901, page 164? this is an entry from sir patrick vallance's diary, or daily notes, which he may have seen put to mr kane this morning. this is on the 7th of september 2020. chancellor blocking all notion of paying to get people to isolate, despite all the evidence that this would be needed. is it consistent with your recollection that the plan —— the chancellor was blocking all notions of getting people to isolate? ., , , isolate? the treasury institutionally - isolate? the treasury institutionally was i isolate? the treasury i inst

lines from a diary kept by the chief scientific adviser, sir patrick vallance, were read out, includingce of a viral pandemic, if those views are right, that was a deeply unfortunate position to be in, was it not? er, yes. so what about the e—mail sent by mr reynolds inviting colleagues to drinks in the garden at number ten? i would first like to say how deeply sorry i am for my part in those events and for the e—mail message which went out that day. whatsapp messages were also shown. the head of the civil service, simon case, said of mrjohnson, "i'm at the end of my tether, he changes strategic direction every day." "it has to stop." "government isn't actually that hard, but this guy is making it impossible." and from the downing street aide dominic cummings, "totally agree, and he's careering around on whatsapp as usual, creating chaos and undermining everybody." another official, imran shafi, was asked about a note he'd taken about a meeting between mrjohnson and the chancellor, rishi sunak, just before lockdown. "why," it was said, "are we destroying the economy for people who'll di

sir. reveals vallance diaries, sir.ir patrick vallance, he was the chief science scientific adviser and basically kept these diaries and basically kept these diaries and they're kind of crazy when you're reading what was going on at the time because he was basically saying they weren't reading these policy papers. people changing policy. people were changing the policy. certainly he's the certainly things like he's the example is this whole like example here is this whole like one metre, metre rule and one metre, two metre rule and stuff. became such stuff. and that became such a part of the paradigm. then part of the paradigm. and then it in it turns out no one in government actually read the thing. someone actually thing. and then someone actually just it within ili. just changed it within ili. yeah. this of yeah. so all this thing of follow was just follow the science, it was just a arbitrary decisions a bunch of arbitrary decisions made people who didn't made by people who didn't even read right, we read the stuff r

accepting their fate and letting the young get on with life and the economy going, wrote patrick vallanceientific advisor. it showed mrjohnson was sociopathic, some of those representing the bereaved said. the overriding impression of what we are seeing here is one of dysfunction — claims of a shambles at the heart of government atjust the moment government was more important to more people than it had been for decades and decades. borisjohnson has offered no comment on what's been said today. the other man taking questions today was lee cain. he the other man taking questions today was lee cain-— was lee cain. he reckons his former boss deserved _ was lee cain. he reckons his former boss deserved that _ was lee cain. he reckons his former boss deserved that mike _ was lee cain. he reckons his former boss deserved that mike gathered. l boss deserved that mike gathered. will probably be be clear, it was the wrong — will probably be be clear, it was the wrong prices _ will probably be be clear, it was the wrong prices for _ will probably be be clear, it was the wrong prices for this - will

the diaries kept by the government's former chief scientific adviser sir patrick vallance during thelic at the second part of the covid inquiry, which looks at the decisions taken by the government at the start of the pandemic. in them he criticises what he calls borisjohnson's "impossible flip—flopping" and "bipolar decision—making". uk rail passengers face major disruption on wednesday with train drivers walking out as part of a bitter, long—running dispute over pay and conditions. the strike coincides with the final day of the conservative party conference in manchester. many parts of the country will have no service at all. a new law to strip people who murdered their partners of parental rights over their children will be introduced. it follows a two—year campaign by the parents ofjade ward, whose killer russell marsh retained rights over their children. under current laws, killers need to be consulted on decisions affecting their children such as health, education and travel. you're live with bbc news. the government of pakistan has said that all illegal immigrants must leave t

lines from a diary kept by the chief scientific adviser, sir patrick vallance, were read out, includingemic, if those views are right, that was a deeply unfortunate position to be in, was it not? er, yes. so what about the e—mail sent by mr reynolds inviting colleagues to drinks in the garden at number ten? i would first like to say how deeply sorry i am for my part in those events and for the e—mail message which went out that day. whatsapp messages were also shown. the head of the civil service, simon case, said of mrjohnson, "i'm at the end of my tether, he changes strategic direction every day." "it has to stop." "government isn't actually that hard, but this guy is making it impossible." and from the downing street aide dominic cummings, "totally agree, and he's careering around on whatsapp as usual, creating chaos and undermining everybody." another official, imran shafi, was asked about a note he'd taken about a meeting between mrjohnson and the chancellor, rishi sunak, just before lockdown. "why," it was said, "are we destroying the economy for people who'll die anyway soon?" mr

quotes from a diary kept by the chief scientific adviser sir patrick vallance were read to the inquirye a weak and indecisive prime minister." in the face of a viral pandemic, if those views are right, that was a deeply unfortunate position to be in, was it not? er, yes. so what about the e—mail sent by mr reynolds inviting colleagues to drinks in the garden at number ten? i would first like to say how deeply sorry i am for my part in those events and for the e—mail message which went out that day. later, anotherformer downing street aide, imran shafi, was asked about a note he had taken about a meeting between mrjohnson and the chancellor rishi sunak just before lockdown. "destroy the economy for people who will die anyway soon." mr shafi, who said those words? i can't say for sure, i think it was the former prime minister. later this week the inquiry will hear from lord stevens who ran nhs england through much of the pandemic. then from late november some of the key political leaders from that time will start to appear. tomorrow there will be continued focus on downing street, with d

so we have neil ferguson , sage whitty vallance ferguson, sage whitty vallance and cummings, the prockdown blob constituting boris's working environment. but we now know that their approach was wrong . a study last year from wrong. a study last year from johns hopkins suggested that covid lockdowns only saved 0.2% of deaths in the first wave. even professor mark woolhouse, a senior epidemic allergist who advised the government during the coronavirus pandemic, told the coronavirus pandemic, told the covid inquiry that national shutdowns were a failure of pubuc shutdowns were a failure of public health policy. but more important, he sweden is the smoking gun. sweden did not lock down and it suffered 2365 covid deaths per million . meanwhile, deaths per million. meanwhile, we did lockdown and suffered 3416 covid deaths per million . 3416 covid deaths per million. and it's clear that boris believes in liberty and was reluctant , rightly reluctant to reluctant, rightly reluctant to lock us down. the failure was one of a blob, not of a leader who asks sensible questions . it who asks sensi

also we have heard from patrick vallance, the chief scientific officer who in the uk, who said ministers of some of the questions being asked. it has been confirmed today that boris johnson and rishi sunak will give evidence later on in this inquiry.— and rishi sunak will give evidence later on in this inquiry. now this is a case of holy camel! we had to show you these pictures from a new york cathedral. that is a camel heading to be blessed at stjohn the divine cathedral. but it wasn't the only animal in fact there were hundreds including as you can see a snake, pony, ostrich, geese and ofcourse cats and dogs. animals lovers of many faiths brought their furry and in the case we're told there was only one small accident when one animal did need a wee. it happens to the best of us. stay with us on the bbc. hello, it has freshened up a little bit in the last 24 hours. quite a humid, cloudy day for many of us yesterday then a cold front swept through. you can see it on the edge of the screen there, moving through germany and denmark and through the wake of this weather front, denmark and th

we heard last week from patrick vallance, the then chief scientific 0fficer here in the uk, who talked in downing street, decisions were so difficult to come by. there was a number 10 at war with itself, really comparing his time, saying nothing was as bad as that. a look at how decisions were made during the pandemic, how they should have been made and maybe how they were not. should have been made and maybe how they were not-— they were not. thank you very much for that, ellie _ they were not. thank you very much for that, ellie price. _ they were not. thank you very much for that, ellie price. we _ they were not. thank you very much for that, ellie price. we will- they were not. thank you very much for that, ellie price. we will have i for that, ellie price. we will have more on that story, as always, and bbc news. let's return to our main story, the conflict between israel and hamas, it has entered its fourth day. almost 190,000 people have been displaced. we can cross live to a reserve member of the israeli defense force, currently based in the uk, where he is studying. let me ask

this is more stuff coming the covid inquiry coming out in the covid inquiry and sir patrick vallanceists had too much enthusiast ism for the camera and i got to be honest, it's, it's, it's addictive , it's juicy. >> you got lost in your gaze. >> you got lost in your gaze. >> it's . yeah. so i get it. i >> it's. yeah. so i get it. i get it. those poor guys, i understand what they were going through. >> there did seem. steve, but they did get a bit into the, into the attention didn't they. and there is this point though i'm going to be very fair to sage, to do, but sage, which i hate to do, but they're saying, well, they were supposed to be independent. so of criticised the of course they criticised the government, in these government here in these released patrick, released messages and patrick, sir saying, sir patrick vallance is saying, well, actually it's not very helpful coming and helpful to keep coming out and undermining us. or do you think that their role? that was their role? >> don't have to >> well, they don't have to do it to camera. job it straight to camera. their job is

insight into downing street during the pandemic as the diaries of key scientific adviser sir patrick vallanceved liverpool of a goal. and on newsnight at 10:30... we'll go deeper behind the headlines and speak live to key players on today's big stories. plus — a first look at tomorrow's front pages.

give evidence, and he quoted from a diary kept by the former chief scientific adviser sir patrick vallance the family's lawyer highlighted breaches of lockdown rules by those in authority. the families urge the inquiry not to ignore the undermining of public messaging that these crass and disgraceful events caused. whilst the vast majority of the country buckled down and complied and came together, some did not. i didn't have the energy to have a conversation for very long. it would knock me out. in 2020, i interviewed this woman who had long covid and co—founded a campaigning group, and now with colleagues they are represented at the inquiry. it seems that thousands and thousands of people caught covid before the lockdown, when we knew that covid was rampant, really, in the population. we weren't measuring it but it was clearly spreading massively. this uk public inquiry is divided into modules. we've already heard about preparedness ahead of the pandemic and from today the focus is on the government's response to covid. the hearings will continue for three years, but it is this stage of

and then perhaps most significantly was that message from patrick vallance, the chief scientific adviser which he says mrjohnson agreed with those in his own party, in the conservative party, who thought old people should be allowed to get the virus and others should be protected, that was in december 2020, just before the christmas lockdown. all of this paints a very uncomfortable picture for the government at the time, all of it paints a very uncomfortable picture indeed for borisjohnson. he is due to give evidence in the next few weeks. is due to give evidence in the next few weeks-— few weeks. thank you, live at the ublic few weeks. thank you, live at the public inquiry _ few weeks. thank you, live at the public inquiry into _ few weeks. thank you, live at the public inquiry into covid-19. - the proposal to close hundreds of ticket offices at railways stations across england has been scrapped. it comes after a public consultation resulted in more than 680,000 responses. but a senior source has told the bbc that rail bosses are furious, because the plans had originally been approved b

quotes from a diary kept by the chief scientific adviser sir patrick vallance were read to the inquiryynolds inviting colleagues to drinks in the garden at number 10? i would first like to say how deeply sorry i am for my part in those events and for the e—mail message which went out that day. later, anotherformer downing street aide, imran shafi, was asked about a note he had taken of a meeting between mrjohnson and the chancellor, rishi sunak, just before lockdown. "destroy the economy for people who will die anyway soon." mr shafi, who said those words? i can't say for sure, i think it was the former prime minister. later this week the inquiry will hear from lord stevens who ran nhs england through much of the pandemic. then from late november some of the key political leaders from that time will start to appear. tomorrow there will be continued focus on downing street, with dominic cummings giving evidence. hugh pym, bbc news. one thing that came up into dave's hearings was that barrister hugo keenan also questioned martin reynolds over his decision to turn on the disappearing mess

we would rely a great deal on chris whitty and patrick vallance, both of whom did an exceptionally good us a coalesced view of that broad church, so we would often take a steer from them as to the right approach. aha, often take a steer from them as to the right approach.— the right approach. a short point. the 13th of _ the right approach. a short point. the 13th of march, _ the right approach. a short point. the 13th of march, or _ the right approach. a short point. l the 13th of march, or thereabouts, it says, under mitigation, the nhs will be overwhelmed. that was news to you? will be overwhelmed. that was news to ou? . . will be overwhelmed. that was news to ou? , ., , ., ., to you? yes, that was news to me at that point- _ to you? yes, that was news to me at that point- of— to you? yes, that was news to me at that point. of the _ to you? yes, that was news to me at that point. of the second _ to you? yes, that was news to me at that point. of the second point - to you? yes, that was news to me at that point. of the second point i - that point. of the second point i want to take _

give evidence and he quoted from a diary kept by the former chief scientific adviser sir patrick vallance those in authori . ., , authority. the families urge the intui authority. the families urge the inquiry not _ authority. the families urge the inquiry not to — authority. the families urge the inquiry not to ignore _ authority. the families urge the inquiry not to ignore the - inquiry not to ignore the undermining of public messaging that these crass and disgraceful events caused. whilst the vast majority of the country buckled down and complied and came together, some did not. t complied and came together, some did not. �* ., , ., not. i didn't have the energy to have a conversation _ not. i didn't have the energy to have a conversation for- not. i didn't have the energy to have a conversation for very i not. i didn't have the energy to i have a conversation for very long. it would _ have a conversation for very long. it would knock me out. in have a conversation for very long. it would knock me out.— it would knock me out. in 2020, i interviewed _ it would knock me out. in 2020, i i

there were quotes, too, from a diary kept by the then chief scientific adviser sir patrick vallance,e have a weak and indecisive prime minister." in the face of a viral pandemic... ..if those views are right, that was a deeply unfortunate position to be in, was it not? er, yes. another former downing street aide, imran shafi, was asked about a note he had taken of a meeting between mrjohnson and the chancellor rishi sunak just before lockdown. "destroy the economy for people who will die anyway soon." mr shafi, who said those words? i can't say for sure. i think it was the former prime minister. this morning, borisjohnson�*s former director of communications, lee cain, and his chief of staff, dominic cummings, will give evidence. the former prime minister will give his take on what happened next month. ellie price, bbc news, at the covid inquiry in london. two former raf bases in essex and lincolnshire are at the centre of a judicial review in the high court today, after the government proposed to house asylum seekers at the disused military sites. local councils have challenged the

in fact, quite the opposite, as patrick vallance and others have pointed out, the nsc and other thingsin may orjune. iii it this will be a big problem, but it will be in may orjune.— will be in may orjune. if it was insane as _ will be in may orjune. if it was insane as you _ will be in may orjune. if it was insane as you have _ will be in may orjune. if it was insane as you have described l will be in may orjune. if it was| insane as you have described it will be in may orjune. if it was - insane as you have described it for them to be away on holiday, whatever everybody was doing, and for there to be a complete absence of an administrative push in relation to coronavirus during the 10—day period, why were you not buying on metaphorically the door of cheveny saying, you have got to come back, we have a crisis, this virus is about to overrun us? i we have a crisis, this virus is about to overrun us?- we have a crisis, this virus is about to overrun us? i was talking to all sorts — about to overrun us? i was talking to all sorts of _ about to overrun us? i was talking to all sorts of pe

we also heard about that trip that dominic cummings took back in may of lockdown in which patrick vallancehat over the last few weeks during this hearing and during this module of the covid inquiry. but, yes, plenty more today and i suspect plenty more tomorrow because we were meant to hear from the director of communications were borisjohnson at the time and tomorrow, will also be hearing from dominic cummings. the prime minister's then chief of staff. it could be even more explosive tomorrow. this could be even more explosive tomorrow— could be even more explosive tomorrow. a ., , ., tomorrow. as you say, where does one start. tomorrow. as you say, where does one start- there — tomorrow. as you say, where does one start- there is— tomorrow. as you say, where does one start. there is so _ tomorrow. as you say, where does one start. there is so much _ tomorrow. as you say, where does one start. there is so much to _ tomorrow. as you say, where does one start. there is so much to pore - start. there is so much to pore over. one of the things as well that stands out. the people who are just

the documents also showed former chief scientist patrick vallance that he said senior officials had triedng arm, strong arm him and chris whitty into giving a press conference around the time that dominic cummings was found to have driven his car to barnard castle. and he said, commenting on that , in these documents that on that, in these documents that were shown to the inquiry today, he said that this was he clearly broken the rules and the press conference that dominic cummings gave after that news came out was a rambling car crash. and in his diary entry, he also called bofis his diary entry, he also called boris johnson weak and indecisive . now, there was also indecisive. now, there was also a handwritten diary note that was shown to the inquiry today when another private secretary gave evidence to the inquiry . gave evidence to the inquiry. imran shafi, this was from a meeting between boris johnson and rishi sunak in march 2020. it said that this is what he had written, made a note of where killing the patient to tackle the tumour, large people. that's taken to mean large numbers o

the documents also showed former chief scientist patrick vallance that he said senior officials had triedng arm, strong arm him and chris whitty into giving a press conference around the time that dominic cummings was found to have driven his car to barnard castle. and he said, commenting on that , in these documents that on that, in these documents that were shown to the inquiry today, he said that this was he clearly broken the rules and the press conference that dominic cummings gave after that news came out was a rambling car crash. and in his diary entry, he also called bofis his diary entry, he also called boris johnson weak and indecisive . now, there was also indecisive. now, there was also a handwritten diary note that was shown to the inquiry today when another private secretary gave evidence to the inquiry . gave evidence to the inquiry. imran shafi, this was from a meeting between boris johnson and rishi sunak in march 2020. it said that this is what he had written, made a note of where killing the patient to tackle the tumour, large people. that's taken to mean large numbers o

reveals sir patrick vallance.r story. and what about this from allison pearson, good friend of the show. regular pundits at i'm a tory and i want them to lose the next election. wow well, look, she knows how to drop a few truth bombs. i believe she's back on monday. now let's get reaction to the big stories of the day. columnist and media personality carol mcgiffin , a personality carol mcgiffin, a very old and good friend of mine. me you. mine. let me tell you. >> excuse me . >> excuse me. >> excuse me. >> you forget , you >> oh, you don't forget, you were 12 when i first met you. >> walk straight into that one, mark. >> i bounced you on my knee . >> i bounced you on my knee. let's not go into the details. in the current climate , get both in the current climate, get both of us in trouble and what about political commentator suzanne evans, who i didn't know when she was a little girl, but what i wish i had, she was a little girl, but what iwish i had, how she was a little girl, but what i wish i had, how wrong di

two extracts from the notebook of chief scientific adviser sir patrick vallance suggested mrjohnson wast for comment. elsewhere, mr cummings said mrjohnson's decision to take a holiday in the february 2020 half term was "insane". and there was "no plan" to support vulnerable people affected by the pandemic. but while all these records and whatapp messages give us a valuable insight into minute—by—minute decision—making in westminster, the same clarity may not be available in understanding scotland's response. the country's national medical directorjason leitch has deleted his whatsapp messages, according to newspaper reports. and today at holyrood, nicola sturgeon refused four times to deny she had done the same. the requests and responses at this stage are confidential until the inquiry decides otherwise so i cannot and will not go into the detail of those responses now, that would be to breach the reputation. any messages i had, i handled and dealt with in line with the policy set out by the deputy first minister. set out by the deputy first minister-— set out by the deputy first mini

. >> and the column and sir patrick vallance is despair and so on that he would flip flop.arts of it which have been released which i have to say i find myself with a degree sympathy for, of degree of sympathy for, of johnson's, of johnson's question , mentioning at least, why are we going to destroy the economy for the sake of the lives of a few people who don't have long to totally to live anyway, and you? totally right. absolutely right. that was an absolutely important question to ask whether not it would have whether or not it would have been to answer. been the right one to answer. you know , with the implied what you know, with the implied what the is , is something the answer is, is something else. the answer is, is something elsni with you, but it's an >> i agree with you, but it's an extra question. >> that he is like >> and the idea that he is like some of monster for even some kind of monster for even questioning that seems to be wrongheaded questioning that seems to be wro they'reed to questioning that seems to be wrothey'reed to blame the >> they're trying to