Boris Johnson: The key questions the former Prime Minister must answer at the UK Covid Inquiry

The conduct of former prime minister Boris Johnson has been a frequent talking point during the UK Covid inquiry

Boris Johnson will face two days of questions before the UK Covid inquiry this week, following evidence that has massively contradicted his own statements during the pandemic.

Evidence so far has been deeply critical of the former prime minister, with his old colleagues questioning his ability to make decisions, as well as his version of events.

Having already briefed newspapers about some of his statements to get ahead of the grilling, Mr Johnson will be hoping to salvage his reputation and dismiss a series of claims around his conduct. Given the parties, lockdowns and questions around the science, here are the key questions Mr Johnson must answer.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set for two days at the Covid inquiry.

What was the culture like in Downing Street?

One of the key themes of the evidence so far has been accusations of a toxic culture, incompetence and rank misogyny throughout Government.

Mr Johnson’s former ally, Dominic Cummings, was earlier accused of “aggressive, foul-mouthed and misogynistic” abuse after messages showed he tried to sack senior civil servant Helen MacNamara, saying No 10 was “dodging stilettos from that c**t”.

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case has claimed dealing with the then-prime minister’s team during Covid was “like taming wild animals”, and said the team was “basically feral”.

Ms MacNamara, who has since left her job, also told the inquiry Mr Johnson oversaw a “toxic culture” in No.10, where “obvious, sexist treatment” of women was rife. Mr Johnson has explaining to do.

Does Mr Johnson accept responsibility for ‘Partygate’ and did it damage public trust?

One of the fundamental reasons Mr Johnson is no longer prime minister is the Partygate scandal, which he repeatedly denied all knowledge of, despite being pictured at events.

Mr Johnson, his wife Carrie and then-chancellor Rishi Sunak were all fined for attending rule-breaking parties at the height of Covid. It will be key to ascertain what the former MP actually knew, and whether he felt regret over his response.

His appearance follows Ms MacNamara telling the inquiry that Covid rules were broken every single day in Downing Street. At previous Commons Privileges Committee proceedings into Partygate, Mr Johnson claimed the scandal was used to drive him out of Parliament.

Was the UK Government too slow with lockdowns?

At the height of the pandemic, Mr Johnson would repeatedly rule out a lockdown, accusing Sir Keir Starmer of wanting to shut Britain down, only to U-turn.

The accusation Britain was too slow with both the first and second lockdown has been repeatedly levelled at Mr Johnson, with Mr Cummings saying he failed to grasp how serious Covid was, meaning “tens of thousands of people died who didn’t need to die”. This claim has been repeated at the inquiry by others, including Mr Johnson’s health secretary Matt Hancock.

Did Mr Hancock say ‘let the bodies pile high’ and other similar sentiments?

Mr Johnson has been accused of a series of controversial comments by multiple sources, all of which he denies.

He is likely to face questions over whether he said “let the bodies pile high”, if he asked if a hairdryer up the nose could stop Covid, if he said old people should "accept their fate" and catch Covid, if he called the Treasury a "pro-death squad", and if he wrote "b******s" over health documents.

Why did he trust Matt Hancock?

Numerous witnesses have accused the former health secretary of lying during his time in Government, and Mr Cummings repeatedly sought to get Mr Hancock fired. Ms MacNamara was one of several to claim Mr Hancock “regularly” told colleagues things “they later discovered weren’t true”, while he has also been accused of lying about vaccination numbers.

Mr Johnson must explain why he didn’t sack Mr Hancock and why he allowed him to resign after his affair breached Covid rules.

Who was really making the decisions?

Multiple witnesses have questioned who was actually running the Goverment during Covid. Mr Case claimed Mr Johnson’s wife, Carrie Johnson, was the “secret PM”, while former chancellor Sajid Javid has claimed Mr Cummings was “prime minister in all, but name”.

Mr Case also labelled the Government a “tragic joke”, while former Mr Johnson ally Lee Cain claimed the pandemic was the “wrong crisis” for his skillset. Who was responsible for decisions will be of vital importance to the inquiry’s findings.