Boris Johnson’s No 10 was toxic, sexist and devoid of humanity, says Helen MacNamara

Boris Johnson oversaw a “toxic” culture of sexism and complacency at No 10 during the Covid crisis, according to scathing evidence given by a former top civil servant to the public inquiry. The former top civil servant also said Mr Johnson did nothing to stop ex-No 10 adviser Dominic Cummings’s misogynistic behaviour after it emerged that Mr Cummings had labelled her “that c***” and said he would “handcuff her and escort her” from Downing Street. It came as: Mr Johnson asked if Covid could be killed by blowing a hairdryer up the nose, according to new evidence from Mr Cummings The former PM is said to have told Mr Cummings to “dead cat” Covid because he was “sick” of the subject It emerged that it took seven months to install hand sanitiser at the door between No 10 and the Cabinet Office The health secretary at the time, Matt Hancock, was accused of having “nuclear” overconfidence, pretending to be a cricketer batting off challenges Mr Cummings’s Barnard Castle trip “blew a hole in public confidence”, the government’s behavioural expert said Ms MacNamara said that on 13 March, a little over a week before the first lockdown, she warned Mr Cummings and others in Mr Johnson’s office that the country was “absolutely f***ed” and “heading for a disaster” in which thousands of people would die. Helen MacNamara reveals ‘unbelievably bullish’ approach by Boris Johnson to the Covid crisis Referring to the culture of rule-breaking within the government, Ms MacNamara said: “Actually, I would find it hard to pick one day when the regulations were followed properly inside that building,” referring to both No 10 and the Cabinet Office. The former top civil servant also told the inquiry: “I’m certain that there are hundreds of civil servants, and potentially ministers, who in retrospect think they were the wrong side of that line.” In written evidence, Ms MacNamara said that there was “very obvious sexist treatment” that saw women overlooked and undermined in both No 10 and the Cabinet Office.