The description of the former prime minister came in an exchange between Martin Reynolds, his former Principal Private Secretary, and Cabinet Secretary Simon Case during the pandemic.
Giving evidence yesterday, Mr Reynolds said Mr Johnson had perhaps not realised his WhatsApp messages would enter the public domain.
In correspondence shared with the inquiry from December 2021, Mr Case said: “PM is mad if he doesn’t think his WhatsApps will become public via Covid inquiry.
“But he was clearly not in the mood for that discussion tonight! We’ll have that battle in the new year.”
Mr Reynolds responded: “Agreed – thanks for your help.”
Yesterday, Mr Reynolds was asked by Hugo Keith KC, lead counsel to the inquiry, what the “battle” referenced in the messages was about.
He replied: “I cannot recall. But I imagine that the Prime Minister – I can only speculate – had not realised that all of his WhatsApps would become public via the Covid Inquiry.”
Dubbed “Party Marty” for sending the infamous “Bring your own bottle” email to No10 staff during lockdown, Mr Reynolds also suggested he had turned on the disappearing message function on the WhatsApp group titled “PM Updates” on April 15, 2021, due to fears about potential leaks.
He told the hearing in central London: “I was worried [about] someone screenshotting or using exchanges and leaking them.”
The extent and nature of decision-
making through the messaging app has become a key plank of Baroness Heather Hallett’s probe. Downing Street said yesterday that the use of disappearing WhatsApp messages is permitted as civil servants and ministerial private offices are required to record and log official decisions for the official record.
Mr Reynolds was asked about the approach taken by Mr Johnson, who has been described as having “oscillated” over different courses of action during the Covid crisis, telling the inquiry: “It’s fair to say the Prime Minister did, as it were, blow hot and cold on some issues.”
Formerly one of the nation’s most senior civil servants, he opened by apologising to bereaved families and the wider public for his role in “Partygate”. Mr Reynolds said: “I would first like to say how deeply sorry I am for my part in those events and for the email message. I would like to apologise unreservedly to all the families of all those who suffered during Covid for the distress caused.”
Earlier, the civil servant accepted government protocols were “inadequate” and “grossly deficient” when asked about a 10-day spell in February 2020 – which encompassed the school half-term holiday period.
The inquiry continues.
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