Britain’s top civil servant won’t appear at Covid inquiry this year due to ill health

Simon Case

Britain’s top civil servant Simon Case will not appear before the UK Covid-19 Inquiry this year due to an ongoing health problem.

In a ruling published on Monday, inquiry chairwoman Baroness Heather Hallett formally excused the cabinet secretary from giving evidence in 2023.

Mr Case, who was permanent secretary in Downing Street during the pandemic, is on medical leave from his current role at the head of the civil service.

He was expected to give evidence to the Covid inquiry’s current sessions, looking at core decision-making and political governance during the pandemic. But his appearance was twice delayed because of the illness — details of which have been kept private.

Lady Hallett said she would receive an update on Mr Case’s ability to give evidence at the end of January 2024 or on his return to work from sick leave, and is expected to convene a special hearing to receive his evidence.

She said in her ruling: “It very much remains my intention that Mr Case should give oral evidence to the inquiry.”

Mr Case has been at the heart of much of the testimony heard by the inquiry so far.

The cabinet secretary, who was appointed to the top civil service job by Boris Johnson in September 2020, was part of a core group around the former PM.

The inquiry has focused on WhatsApp messages between Mr Case and other key advisers including Dominic Cummings and Mr Johnson’s former communications chief Lee Cain.

Messages sent between the three revealed the chaos at the heart of Downing Street during the pandemic, with Mr Case at one point declaring: “I am at the end of my tether.”

The head of the civil service said the government was looking like a “terrible, tragic joke”, while Mr Johnson’s wife Carrie was “the real person in charge”.

Mr Case wrote that he was “not sure I can cope” amid apparent frustration at how the pandemic was being handled in government.

And in a stunning exchange seen by inquiry, Mr Case wrote: “I was always told that Dom [Dominic Cummings] was the secret PM. How wrong they are. I look forward to telling select cttee tomorrow – ‘oh, f*** no, don’t worry about Dom, the real person in charge is Carrie’.”

Mr Case also played a key role in the Partygate saga and had to recuse himself from an investigation into lockdown-busting Downing Street gatherings due to his own involvement, handing the task to Sue Gray.

He was pictured at the Cabinet Room birthday party for which Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak were fined.

Mr Case’s central role during the Johnson administration also saw him drawn into the rows surrounding Richard Sharp’s appointment as BBC chairman.

He also admitted he had an “informal conversation” about potential roles at a royal charity for Mrs Johnson after a prompt from No 10.

The prime minister has wished Mr Case a speedy recovery.

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