Covid-19 Inquiry LIVE: Helen MacNamara targeted in Cummings' 'misogynistic' messages gives evidence
· 01.11.2023 · 12:10:12 ··· ··· Wednesday ·· 3 (3)
Evening Standard The former top civil servant criticised by Dominic Cummings in expletive-laden WhatsApp messages is set to appear before the Covid-19 inquiry.
Helen MacNamara, the former deputy cabinet secretary, will become the latest pandemic-era senior official to face questions about the response on Wednesday after two days of hearings revealed the dysfunction, indecision and dithering inside Boris Johnson’s government.
The ex-civil servant, who left the Civil Service in 2021, was namechecked in proceedings on Tuesday as Mr Cummings denied he had behaved in a misogynistic way during his time in Downing Street.
WhatsApp messages shared with the inquiry revealed that Mr Cummings had labelled Ms MacNamara “that c***” and said he would “handcuff her and escort her” from Downing Street.
“I don’t care how it’s done but that woman must be out of our hair – we cannot keep dealing with this horrific meltdown of the British state while dodging stilettos from that c***,” he wrote.
Ms MacNamara, who took up a senior role at the Premier League following her Civil Service exit before leaving after less than two years, played a key role in the Covid response as one of the country’s most senior officials.
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