Image source, HoC

Committee chairman William Wragg asks what "levers" the cabinet secretary has to ensure decisions are made in a "proper way".

Simon Case says there are three levers, with the first around the guidance and codes, while the second is the "civil service in the round".

"The way civil servants support ministers, their training, their skills is important," he says.

He adds that the cabinet secretary is there to support the prime minister and advise them on "the collective system of government, the cabinet system of government" which he says is there to make srue decisions are made properly.

Case says that he speaks to his predecessors in the role and they says that "propriety and ethics work" was one of the most difficult moments in their job.

The committee is also hearing from the head of the Cabinet Office's propriety and ethics team, Darren Tierney.

He is asked whether he is concerned about having to say "no" to ministers.

He says is not concerned about that at all, and expects the vast amount of work to be incoming from ministers who are seeking advice because they want to stay within the code.

Simon Case is now asked whether it is acceptable, as the guardian of ethics in his role, to come before the committee and "plead the fifth".

He responds with an apology, saying it is "necessary" to protect the integrity of an ongoing investigation.

He is asked why he didn't give the committee advance warning of what he would and wouldn't be able to talk about ahead of the hearing.

Case says he apologises for not making that clear in advance to the whole committee.

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case says that "given the time that has now passed, I think it’s probable the team will not successfully identify the source or sources" of the November lockdown leak, "but work is ongoing".

He says "because of the significant public and parliamentary concern around this leak, with the prime minister's permission officials have been providing briefings to the Speaker of the House on privy council terms".

"At the conclusion of the investigation, the prime minister has made clear, that the government will update Parliament," he says.

Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell asks if there is to be an inquiry into the alleged comments made by Boris Johnson saying "bodies could pile high in the streets" when discussing lockdowns.

Simon Case says this is not something he has looked into and will be something he will have to discuss with the prime minister.

Mr McDonnel adds in reference to the leak inquiry, that he find it "incredulous it has taken so long".

He says it is five months on and says while it drags on "No10 spokespeople are able to issue statements tarnishing others who are obviously subjects of the inquiry themselves".

The cabinet secretary is now asked who has informed him that he can't answer some of the committee's questions.

Simon Case says "it's in collaboration with the government's security group who own the processes".

He says he can't say much more about the ongoing inquiry, adding that "what I can say I have already said to the committee".

Labour's Lloyd Russell-Moyle asks if the leaker has broken any laws.

Simon Case says that this was looked at as part of the process, and it "concluded that this leak did not meet the threshold for an offence under the Official Secrets Act or the offence of misconduct in a public office".

Russell-Moyle asks why the cabinet secretary is not able give more details if it is not a legal matter.

"Just because something isn't a criminal offence it doesn't mean there aren't national security issues involved," Case says.

Simon Case is asked whether he authorised the prime minister's then official spokesman to say that the inquiry had shown that neither Dominic Cummings nor Lee Cain, the director of communications, were responsible for leaking details of the lockdown.

He says he understands frustrations but says he is not able to go into details for the committee.

Pressed further on whether he can exonerate Mr Cummings and Mr Case, he reiterates that he can't give those details.

He says the Commons Speaker has been kept updated on the progress of the inquiry, and as soon as it is concluded the details will be given to Parliament.

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case says he hopes it is a "matter of weeks rather than months" for the conclusion of an inquiry into who leaked details of Covid plans.

Case says: "I think there was widespread anger, not only in government but beyond, about this leak which related to a vital part of our Covid response."

Asked if it is normal to tell someone they are no longer being investigated while an inquiry is ongoing Cabinet Secretary Simon Case says giving updates is part of the normal process.

But he says he cannot comment on individual cases.

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, the UK's most senior civil servant, has begun answering questions from a committee of MPs.

Laura Kuenssberg
Political editor

Image source, Getty Images

"Tittle tattle" - the dictionary defines the phrase as "idle chat" or "gossip". Westminster's lexicon provides a slightly different answer.

The phrase is used time and again by politicians trying to describe and often dismiss a situation that is politically messy and potentially dangerous.

So when International Trade Secretary Liz Truss resorted to cries of "tittle tattle" at the weekend while answering questions about the current political Downing Street quagmire, don't assume the various claims and counter claims will disappear fast.

Many Conservatives believe the prime minister ultimately won't be damaged by any of this. A senior minister told me: "It's not about something that has a major policy implication now."

But the idea that the Tory party just forget it all? Briefings against Mr Cummings, perhaps even carried out by the prime minister himself, have turned the key that opened a Pandora's Box.

And whatever the specific details of each allegation, the question that truly matters in the end is how the prime minister is operating in office.

Read more from Laura's blog here.

Image source, Reuters/PA Media

Boris Johnson’s ex-adviser Dominic Cummings says that the prime minister had once planned to have donors "secretly pay" for the revamp of his Downing Street flat.

But earlier today Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the prime minister had "personally paid the bill".

In his blog Cummings also:

• denies leaking text messages sent between Mr Johnson and businessman Sir James Dyson
• denies leaking details of November's second coronavirus lockdown in England
• alleges Mr Johnson had considered trying to block an inquiry into the leak in case it involved a friend of his fiancée Carrie Symonds

You can read more about the Downing Street flat row here.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage as Cabinet Secretary Simon Case faces the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee.

The UK’s most senior civil servant was originally meant to be facing questions on the collapse of Greensill capital and its links to the government.

But Mr Case is also likely to be asked about the row over who paid for the refurbishment of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Downing Street flat and other accusations made by the prime minister’s former chief adviser Dominic Cummings.