Former Civil Service Head Lord Sedwill Apologizes for Early COVID Missteps, Sought to Remove Health Secretary Matt Hancock During Pandemic

Advocated for removal of Health Secretary amid damning criticism of handling of COVID crisis, regretted early downplaying of COVID severity, denied advising PM Johnson to sack Hancock, and criticized stringent decision-making process.

Former Civil Service Head Lord Sedwill has issued an apology for initially underestimating the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and has acknowledged his ‘chicken pox parties’ analogy was incorrect; he had made this private comment early in the pandemic in relation to herd immunity.
Lord Sedwill was not overtly critical of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's management style but disapproved of other ministers and advisers. He described working with the PM's team as 'exhausting' and likened it to dealing with 'wild animals'.
Dominating Lord Sedwill's testimony was his discontent with then Health Secretary Matt Hancock, whom he believed was a 'big problem' during the initial period of the pandemic. He doubted Hancock's honesty about the progress of testing and disagreed with him over local lockdown strategies.
In his evidence, Lord Sedwill claimed he advised PM Johnson that Hancock should be replaced in the summer of 2020, despite Johnson denying receiving such advice. However, Sedwill clarified he did not formally advice Johnson to sack Hancock, but assured Johnson would have been clear about his feelings.
Lord Sedwill highlighted his criticisms of the decision-making process in the government stating that significant national decisions were being taken without the input of necessary experts. He also pushed back against the attempts of PM's advisers attempting to dictate meetings, insisting that decisions should not exclude ministers, operational experts, and scientists.