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The Covid inquiry is under way for the day, with former director of communications for No 10 Lee Cain being sworn in.

He's questioned by Andrew O'Connor KC, who is clarifying Cain's history in government.

Cain's witness statement is shown, which details how he started his career as a journalist before moving on to working on the Brexit referendum.

Cain then went to work for Boris Johnson in 2018, when Johnson was foreign secretary, and later moved into the director of communications role in No 10, when Johnson became PM.

Cain agrees with O'Connor that he gave political advice to Johnson on communications' strategy while in that role.

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Back in 2020, Lee Cain was one of Boris Johnson’s closest and longest-serving aides.

Cain, a former press officer for the Vote Leave campaign, followed Johnson from the Foreign Office - where he was Johnson’s special adviser - to Downing Street where he took on the role of communications director.

He went on to resign in November 2020 amid anger at the government over its handling of the pandemic and Brexit negotiations. He turned down a promotion to Johnson’s chief of staff in the process.

After Cain’s resignation, Johnson thanked him for his "extraordinary service", calling him a "true ally and friend".

The following year Cain started his own PR communications agency, Charlesbye, where he is listed as a founding partner.

Today's session of the Covid inquiry is starting now. Lee Cain, former director of communications for Boris Johnson, will be the first person giving evidence.

You can watch the session live by pressing the Play button at the top of this page.

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Although established and funded by government, the Covid inquiry is being led by an independent chair, Baroness Heather Hallett.

She’s a retired judge and crossbench peer in the House of Lords.

Baroness Hallett previously led the inquests into the 7 July bombings in 2005.

• Listen to a 15-minute profile on her here

Anger at Boris Johnson from former staffpublished at 09:53 Greenwich Mean Time 31 October 2023

09:53 GMT 31 October 2023

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

I was struck yesterday by just how much evidence there was of frustration - and sometimes real anger - at Boris Johnson.

That anger was from senior people around the prime minister during the pandemic; the top civil servant in the country, the chief scientific adviser and key No 10 aides.

The messages published yesterday were pretty damning for Johnson. He was "weak and indecisive" said Sir Patrick Vallance. He could not lead, said Simon Case.

The view of Dominic Cummings is well known. He was highly critical of Johnson when he appeared before a Parliamentary Committee - I think we should expect more of that today.

But remember, he was a lightning rod for anger during the pandemic when he made his trip to Barnard Castle during lockdown. He could face questioning over that too.

Transport minister Richard Holden has suggested WhatsApp messages shared with the Covid inquiry amounted to "tittle tattle".

He said if conversations during other national crises had been recorded throughout history in the same way as WhatsApp, it would be “similarly embarrassing” for the likes of former prime ministers Winston Churchill and Neville Chamberlain.

"The entire government stepped up and responded in those circumstances,” he told Times Radio this morning.

"The important issue at stake is what we can learn as a country from our response."

Boris Johnson’s former chief of staff, Dominic Cummings, arrived at the Covid inquiry a little earlier and was met by questions from waiting reporters.

He did not respond when asked: "How's your eyesight?"

Cummings drove to Barnard Castle during lockdown restrictions, saying he needed to test his eyesight with the 30-minute drive to the County Durham beauty spot.

Covid inquiry WhatsApps paint picture of chaospublished at 09:29 Greenwich Mean Time 31 October 2023

09:29 GMT 31 October 2023

Chris Mason
Political editor

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If you thought yesterday felt political, just wait for today.

Dominic Cummings’ rather acidic views of Boris Johnson have been amply articulated before.

The former prime minister was, Cummings has already claimed, "like a shopping trolley smashing from one side of the aisle to the other".

In other words, he kept changing his mind.

But in addition to Cummings' opinion of Johnson, what specifics about decisions made - or avoided - might we learn today?

And what will we learn about the communications dilemmas Lee Cain faced - as the man responsible for that in No10?

You can read more from me on the Covid Inquiry — what we are learning and why it matters, here.

This public inquiry was launched by Boris Johnson in May 2021 and it will cover decision-making in Westminster and the devolved administrations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The overall aim of a public inquiry is to respond to "public concern" about events.

Any inquiry has the power to make people appear as witnesses, and to provide evidence. Inquiries are expected to publish conclusions and may make recommendations.

Martin Reynolds - the head of Boris Johnson's private office when he was prime minister - and another aide of the then-PM, Imran Shafi, gave evidence at yesterday’s inquiry. Both faced questions from Hugo Keith KC, the inquiry's lead counsel. Here are the key takeaways:

• Martin Reynolds admitted government failings on Covid planning - and apologised "unreservedly" for parties in Downing Street during lockdown
• Exchanges in a WhatsApp group of top officials weren't kept after the "disappearing messages" function was switched on. Reynolds said he couldn't recall why, but insisted the information would have been recorded in other ways
• Shafi said original lockdown plans were changed constantly, as the government couldn't decide whether it should aim to contain the virus, implement herd immunity or mitigate it
• He wrote a note in his diary which quoted someone as asking: "Why are we destroying the economy for people who will die anyway soon?" He said he couldn't recall who said this, but believed it to have been Johnson
• The inquiry also heard there was a period of 10 days in February 2020, coinciding with half-term, during which Johnson wasn't briefed at all
• A reminder that Johnson's spokesman has declined to comment on the evidence, but says the former PM is "co-operating fully" with the inquiry

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In central London this morning, both Lee Cain and Dominic Cummings have arrived to give evidence to the Covid inquiry.

Proceedings kick off at 10:00 GMT - we'll bring you live updates on this page.

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Here's a reminder of some key details to know about the UK's Covid inquiry:

• It’s being chaired by Baroness Hallett - a former Court of Appeal judge who previously led the inquests into the 7 July London bombings in 2005
• The names of people giving evidence will be announced for each week - they include key politicians, scientists, unions, health and care organisations, Covid bereavement groups and more
• Members of the public are being encouraged to share their stories with the inquiry by filling in this form online, external
• No-one will be found guilty or innocent during this inquiry
• This is about going through what happened and learning lessons
• Any recommendations made by the inquiry at the end of this process do not have to be adopted by governments

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The first phase of the Covid inquiry ended in June and looked at how prepared the UK was for the pandemic.

Now we’re in the last week of the second phase of hearings, examining UK decision making and political governance during the pandemic, which will see several senior former Downing Street employees give evidence.

Here’s who we’re seeing today - and when:

From 10:00:

• Lee Cain: Ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson's former director of communications
• Dominic Cummings: Former senior adviser to Johnson

From 14:00:

• Dominic Cummings: To continue into the afternoon

Emily McGarvey
Live reporter

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Good morning and welcome to another round of live coverage of the UK’s Covid inquiry.

We're now in the fourth week of hearings for the inquiry's second phase, which features key figures from No 10 during the pandemic.

Yesterday we heard from Martin Reynolds, former principal private secretary (PPS) to ex-prime minister Boris Johnson, and Imran Shafi, one of Johnson's former aides.

From 10:00 today, we expect to hear from Johnson's former director of communications Lee Cain. He was due to appear yesterday but the inquiry ran over.

Later today it'll be Johnson's former senior adviser Dominic Cummings taking the hot seat.

There will be both text coverage and a stream of today’s proceedings, which you can watch live by clicking the Play button at the top of this page.