The inquiry lawyer Hugo Keith KC is beginning with some standard procedural questions - about Mark Sedwill's career history and the phone he used while in office.

He's also explaining the role of the civil service in the UK, and what his previous job as cabinet secretary and head of the civil service entailed.

We're listening in and will bring you more as Keith's line of questioning turns to the matter at hand - the Covid pandemic

As we've said, we'll bring you live text updates right here. You can also watch the hearing live by pressing the play button at the top of this page.

Stay with us for Mark Sedwill's key lines.

We're about to hear from Mark Sedwill, the former cabinet secretary and head of the civil service.

You can watch every moment of the Covid inquiry by pressing the play button at the top of this page.

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As we gear up for this next evidence session, here are the timings for today:

• 10:00 Lord Mark Sedwill, the former cabinet secretary and head of the civil service
• 14:00 Justin Tomlinson MP, the former minister for Disabled People, Health and Work

We'll be bringing you text coverage for Sedwill's evidence, and you'll be able to stay with us and watch the stream at the top of the page as Tomlinson gives evidence later.

Here's a quick reminder:

• 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 current module of the inquiry is covering decision-making during the pandemic in Westminster and the devolved administrations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
• 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
• No-one will be found guilty or innocent; the process is about learning lessons. And any recommendations made at the end do not have to be adopted by governments
• Members of the public are being encouraged to share their stories with the inquiry by filling in this form online, external

Image source, PA

Mark Sedwill served as the UK government's cabinet secretary and head of the civil service between 2018 and 2020.

Before that, he worked for Theresa May and spent more than 20 years in the Foreign Office.

It was his job to advise then-PM Boris Johnson on implementing policy and government conduct. He also had unprecedented input on national security decisions in his separate role as the PM's national security adviser.

He has been described as a career diplomat, but he ended up quitting in June 2020 after reports of a rift with members of the PM’s team. Johnson's former adviser Dominic Cummings last week told the inquiry that Sedwill's exit "set off a kind of bomb across the whole system".

Sedwill himself later labelled the anonymous criticism of officials as “damaging”.

Sam Hancock
Live reporter

Hello, thanks for joining us as we get ready for the next UK Covid inquiry hearing.

For the last month or so, the inquiry's been taking evidence for its second investigation - examining UK decision-making and political governance during the pandemic.

From 10:00 today, we expect to hear from Lord Mark Sedwill, who led the civil service and was the cabinet secretary until his exit in June 2020. He's been brought up in a number of previous sessions, including that of Dominic Cummings, the former chief adviser to Boris Johnson.

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

It's me here ready to bring you the latest, along with my colleagues James Gregory, Nadia Ragozhina and Joshua Nevett.