What's happened
Helen MacNamara testifies at Covid inquiry, criticising Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings for misogynistic language and dismissive approach to Covid
Why it matters
The testimony sheds light on the toxic culture within the UK government and its impact on the pandemic response, raising concerns about the treatment of women in senior positions and the dismissive attitude towards the Covid crisis.
What the papers say
The Guardian highlights the use of misogynistic language by Dominic Cummings and Boris Johnson's failure to address it, while The Independent focuses on MacNamara's criticism of the toxic culture in No 10. Politico emphasizes MacNamara's testimony about the lack of diversity and dismissive approach to Covid in the UK government. Gulf News reports on Boris Johnson's suggestion of using a hairdryer against Covid, and The Mirror covers the Partygate scandal and the toxic culture in No 10.
How we got here
The Covid-19 inquiry has been revealing dysfunction and toxic culture within the UK government, with testimonies from former top officials and advisors.
More on these topics
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Helen MacNamara is a former senior British civil servant who served as the Deputy Cabinet Secretary in the Cabinet Office until 2021. She had previously worked as Director General for Propriety and Ethics in the Cabinet Office between 2018 and 2020.
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Dominic Mckenzie Cummings is a British political strategist who has served as chief adviser to UK prime minister Boris Johnson since July 2019.
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Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson Hon FRIBA is a British politician, writer, and former journalist serving as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since 2019.
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Matthew John David Hancock is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care since 2018. A member of the Conservative Party, he previously served as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in 2018 for six mo
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The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. It was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China.