Suspicion clouds the unity of PM’S trusted quad

It was set up by Boris Johnson with secrecy in mind. In the face of mounting criticism of the Government’s Covid strategy, the Prime Minister’s tight-knit coronavirus “quad” committee was designed to present a united front to the country.

Comprising Mr Johnson, Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary and Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, along with a select group of senior advisers, the foursome had been entrusted to take all the “big” decisions on coronavirus. But with an inquiry now under way after details of the second lockdown were leaked to the press, the identity of the culprit has not only been called into question – but the future of the “quad” itself.

Downing Street insists the cosy group will continue to meet despite the threat of police being called in to investigate the betrayal of Friday’s discussions, but insiders are beginning to wonder how it can continue to function effectively now “trust has gone”. According to one well-placed source, Mr Johnson remains “furious” that plans for national restrictions were briefed out three days before he planned to officially announce the Government’s next steps on Monday.

The finger of suspicion has been pointed at the trio of ministers in attendance – all of whom have denied any involvement.

Asked by the BBC’S Andrew Marr if he leaked the information, Mr Gove replied: “No.” Asked if he knew who had leaked it, he again said: “No.”

An ally of Mr Hancock insisted any suggestion he was behind the disclosure was “categorically untrue”, adding: “This will be demonstrated by the investigation. The Health Secretary spends his time dealing with the global pandemic and protecting lives – not briefing journalists.”

Sources close to Mr Sunak have pointed out he would have little to gain from the leak – not least as he intended to spend the weekend trying to persuade the Prime Minister to stick with tougher regional measures.

Both are understood to have requested more data to pore over before taking a final decision after being presented with a projection of a possible 4,000 daily deaths by Christmas. The figures, produced by Cambridge University in conjunction with Public Health England, have subsequently been called into question after it emerged they were two weeks out of date. Subsequent statistics suggest the three-tier approach insisted on by Mr Johnson is succeeding in bringing the infection rate down in some areas.

Tory MPS are angry that more time wasn’t devoted to ensuring the Sage scientists had “got their sums right” amid mounting unease over No 10’s handling of the crisis.

Summing up the party view, one veteran Tory said: “There is no question it was deliberately briefed to properly scupper deliberation on this. You cannot run a Government like this. At the most critical times, you need close, watertight communications. You need to be able to trust ministers and you need to be able to trust officials. At the moment, the Prime Minister cannot seem to trust anyone.”

Now, to add insult to injury, there are suggestions that one of those present at Friday’s powwow may have made calls to select newspapers on Friday night out of frustration with Mr Johnson’s “dithering”.

Seemingly damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t, the Prime Minister stands accused of taking both too much time and not enough.

Amid much discussion over which minister had the most to gain from the leak, Mr Johnson’s closest aides are now coming under increased scrutiny. The Daily Telegraph has learnt that those in attendance included Dominic Cummings, the Prime Minister’s chief adviser; Simon Case, Cabinet Secretary; Lee Cain, Downing Street’s director of communications; and Sir

Eddie Lister, the Prime Minister’s chief strategic adviser. Prof Chris Whitty, the Government’s Chief Medical Officer; and Sir Patrick Vallance, the Chief Scientific Adviser, were also present.

Naturally, Tories are keen to implicate Mr Cummings, described by one as “in charge of the thing”. The MP added: “They call it a quad but it’s actually got five members. Unless you count Gove and Cummings as one, which many people do. They’ve both been in despair that Boris didn’t decide to lock down in September. They’re obsessed with the death rate.”

Suspicions about Mr Gove’s involvement intensified after he appeared to contradict Government policy on Sunday by suggesting the lockdown may be extended beyond Dec 2. “Many saw that as Michael doubling down on pushing the Prime Minister into a corner,” said the backbencher.

A No 10 source confirmed that the high-level summit was held under the guise of the “Covid-19 strategy” subcommittee that is usually chaired by the Prime Minister – although its other ministerial members, Priti Patel, the Home Secretary; Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary; and Alok Sharma, the Business Secretary, were conspicuous by their absence. Eyebrows were raised at Ms Patel’s exclusion, not least when the Home Office is going to be heavily involved in the enforcement of the new regulations.

According to one insider: “That subcommittee has basically been honed down to four blokes. It’s been like that for a while now. The others seem to have been frozen out.”

Another insider suggested the cast list was “consistent” with those involved in previous “major decision making” on the pandemic.

Some see the structure as an echo of Theresa May’s “Brexit war cabinet” – reinstated by Mr Cummings in a bid to maintain a vice-like grip on the Government’s decision-making process.

The former prime minister would invite certain ministers to the tightknit subcommittee one week, but not the next – ensuring she was the only person party to all of the discussions.

Yet despite Mrs May’s best efforts, even top-secret subcommittee conversations over issues like Huawei ended up hitting the headlines before she was ready to announce them. The leak from the National Security Council meeting about Chinese firm Huawei prompted the sacking of Gavin Williamson from the post of defence secretary – although the Metropolitan Police said it did not amount to a criminal offence.

So Mr Johnson now finds himself in a similarly sticky situation to his predecessor, who once had to suffer the ignominy of having an internal memo warning against leaks to the press, leaked to the press.

To make matters worse, his wider Cabinet has long felt excluded by the subcommittee process, privately complaining that they are only ever asked to “rubber stamp” foregone conclusions. “Cabinet subcommittees have a lot of power. They are decisionmaking bodies, constitutionally and legally,” explained one former government adviser. “So if a decision has been made, who are the Cabinet to overturn it?”

But with the sanctity of the Prime Minister’s inner circle now shattered, his supposedly confidential coronavirus quartet has been left facing the music.

‘There is no question it was deliberately briefed to properly scupper deliberation on this’