Cummings says government officials were ‘literally skiing’ as Covid crisis loomed

Former Number 10 advisor Dominic Cummings has claimed key officials in the government were “skiing” in the middle of February, as he described the lack of “urgency” at No 10.

Giving evidence to MPs, Cummings described government pandemic plans as “hollow” as the crisis loomed, suggesting Johnson’s government were not on an active war footing “in any way shape or form”.

The former special advisor also claimed nations including Britain “completely failed” to see warnings about the coming pandemic in January 2020.