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Published31 October 2023Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesBy Sean SeddonBBC NewsAt the centre of the UK’s response to Covid-19 was a small cast of politicians and officials tasked with steering the country through the crisis.But private messages aired during the public inquiry into the government’s handling of the pandemic have laid bare the strained relations between key players – and in some instances, the contempt and animosity. Here are some of the most eye-catching exchanges we’ve seen.This article contains language some readers may find offensive.’He thinks it’ll be like swine flu’ The inquiry has heard in recent days how then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other key figures inside Downing Street grappled with the size of the challenge facing the government between January and March 2020.On 2 March, Mr Johnson chaired his first meeting of the Cobra emergency committee to discuss how the government would respond to the rapid spread of Covid-19.But a day later, Dominic Cummings – the PM’s then chief of staff – said he still didn’t think Mr Johnson was convinced of the severity of the situation.In a message to No 10 communications director Lee Cain, he said Mr Johnson “doesn’t think it’s a big deal” and “it’ll be like swine flu”, another virus which spread across the world in 2009, killing more than 450 people in the UK but not prompting a major public health crisis.”His focus is elsewhere,” the PM’s closest aide said of his boss the day after that Cobra meeting.’He’s back to Jaws mode’On 19 March 2020, Mr Cummings was in a meeting with Mr Johnson and then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak. During it, he messaged his frustrations to Mr Cain.The exchange – which took place four days before the first UK-wide lockdown was announced – lays bare the vitriol Mr Johnson’s closest advisers were privately sharing at the time.Mr Cummings described the PM as “melting down” during a discussion about how government debt would be financed during the pandemic. The PM is in “Jaws mode”, Mr Cummings says – a reference to a joke Mr Johnson had previously made about his political hero being the mayor from the film Jaws, who keeps the beaches open despite warnings about shark attacks.Both say they are “exhausted” with him. They then discuss a tweet from Times journalist Steven Swinford, saying Mr Johnson had sent a “confusing message” at a press conference.Mr Cummings adds: “It’s only a matter of time before [Mr Johnson’s] babbling exposes fact he doesn’t know what to say.”‘I’ll personally handcuff her’The inquiry was shown expletive-laden messages Mr Cummings wrote about Helen MacNamara, who was deputy cabinet secretary at the time.On 21 August 2020, he said her propriety and ethics “bullshit” was “designed to waste huge amounts of my time”, and said she should be moved from her job.Mr Cummings said “I’ll personally handcuff her and escort her from the building”, and – using a highly offensive term – refers to dealing with her questions as “dodging stilettos”. He told the inquiry his language was “appalling” but denied being a misogynist, saying he had been just as brutal about male colleagues, and worked well with other women in government.Scottish government accused of withholding Covid WhatsApps,