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The former head of the civil service has acknowledged that the UK government’s efforts to enforce the coronavirus lockdown restrictions had been undermined by Dominic Cummings’ trip to Country Durham at the height of the first wave of the pandemic.
While Boris Johnson said his senior assistant had acted “reasonably” when he drove to County Durham after his wife developed Covid symptoms, Lord Sedwill said it was a “mistake.”
“It was clearly a difficult time for the government. It was a mistake, I don’t think it’s right if everyone has to quit every time they make a mistake.
“But it clearly undermined the government’s coherent narrative about people playing by the rules.”
Sedwill, who retired last month as cabinet secretary, also said there were “legitimate” questions about Whitehall’s readiness for the coronavirus outbreak.
However, he said that some of the criticism was misplaced and that attacks outside of briefings on his performance had been “detrimental” to good governance.
Sedwill, who was appointed to the position under Theresa May, resigned after allegedly clashing with Boris Johnson’s top adviser. He was one of the top officials to leave in the months after Johnson became prime minister last year.
Speaking to the BBC, he rejected suggestions that his departures had been part of a campaign to get rid of officials that ministers did not like, saying the situation was “more complex.”
“Governments want people they trust, of course,” he said. “We go through periods of this type where it is perceived that there is an attack on the underlying values of the civil service, but in reality, those values and the institutions that serve governments with impartiality have always prevailed and I am sure they will continue to do so. . . “
However, he said the press attacks on senior officials over Brexit and other issues had been “ugly” and damaging.
“It is detrimental to good governance and those responsible must recognize the damage they are doing, even if they are indulging in some short-term tactical ploy,” he said.
Sedwill said future research would be needed to determine whether the March lockdown was imposed quickly enough and whether the state had adequate capabilities to deal with a pandemic.
“Although we had exercised and prepared for the threats of a pandemic, we did not have the exact measures in place and we had not rehearsed the exact measures,” he said.
“I think there is a genuine question as to whether we could have been better prepared in the first place and obviously that’s a very legitimate challenge.”
