Lee Cain
| Use attributes for filter ! | |
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Age | 43 |
| Date of birth | January 1,1981 |
| Education | Ormskirk Grammar School |
| Staffordshire University | |
| Previous position | Downing Street Director of Communications (2019–2020) |
| Prime minist | Boris Johnson |
| Date of Reg. | |
| Date of Upd. | |
| ID | 2531304 |
Lee Cain Life story
Lee Edward Cain is a British public relations professional and former journalist who served as Downing Street Director of Communications under Boris Johnson from July 2019 until the end of 2020.
Boris Johnson to apologise to Covid Inquiry but say he got big calls right
... His former director of communications, Lee Cain, said the pandemic, describing dither and delay...
Covid inquiry: Michael Gove defends Boris Johnson over lockdown decision-making
... In previous testimony, some of Mr Johnson s most senior advisers - including Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain - have characterised the former prime minister as indecisive and liable to change his mind...
Covid inquiry: What has Sir Patrick Vallance said in his diaries?
... Sir Patrick says communications chiefs Lee Cain and James Slack plus civil servant Martin Reynolds tried to convince them, but they managed to avoid doing it in the end...
Covid Inquiry: Boris Johnson referred to Treasury as 'pro-death squad'
... The inquiry was later shown a series of WhatsApp messages sent in September and October 2020 between then Downing Street director of communications Lee Cain and Ben Warner - a data scientist hired by Dominic Cummings after working on the 2016 Vote Leave campaign...
Covid inquiry: Key points from Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain evidence
...On Tuesday, the Covid Inquiry heard evidence from two of Boris Johnson s key advisers at the height of the pandemic - Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain...
Boris Johnson thought old people should accept Covid fate, inquiry told
... Lee Cain, No 10 s former communications director, said the pandemic was the " wrong crisis" for Mr Johnson and he was a " challenging character to work with" because he kept changing his mind...
Covid inquiry: Read the private WhatsApp messages from inside Downing Street
... 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...
Covid inquiry WhatsApps paint picture of chaos
... And there is plenty more to come - Boris Johnson s former director of communications, Lee Cain, and his former chief of staff, Dominic Cummings...
Covid inquiry: Michael Gove defends Boris Johnson over lockdown decision-making
By Joshua Nevett & Hugh Pym BBC News
Cabinet minister Michael Gove has disputed claims Boris Johnson was " incapable of making decisions" about lockdowns during the pandemic in evidence to the Covid inquiry.
He Said introducing a lockdown was " difficult" for Mr Johnson because it went against his " political outlook".
But he accepted lockdowns came Too Late both in March and November 2020.
Mr Gove also apologised to victims and bereaved families for the government's " mistakes" during the pandemic.
He Said as a senior minister who was " close to many of the decisions that were made, I must take my share of responsibility for that".
Mr Gove said politicians were " human beings" who were " fallible" and " every decision was difficult and every course was bad" at The Time .
Personal responsibilityWhile some mistakes were " unique and specific to the UK government" Mr Gove said " we need to remember that governments everywhere made errors".
Mr Gove was The First senior cabinet minister at the centre of the UK government's response to the pandemic to give evidence in this part of The Inquiry .
As Cabinet Office minister he was part of a core team of key decision makers in 2020 along with Mr Johnson, former Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Rishi Sunak , who was chancellor and is now Prime Minister .
His admission to errors and his own personal responsibility at the Time Was a significant moment in The Inquiry , as well as his apology to bereaved families.
More on the Covid inquiry
Much of Mr Gove's testimony focused on how decisions were made by senior ministers and civil servants in Mr Johnson's government in The First year of the pandemic.
In previous testimony, some of Mr Johnson's most senior advisers - including Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain - have characterised the former Prime Minister as indecisive and liable to change his mind.
Lee Cain , No 10's former director of communications, said Mr Johnson had been " torn" between the scientific evidence and Public Opinion , describing the pandemic as the " wrong crisis" for the former Prime Minister .
But in his testimony on Tuesday, Mr Gove was loath to criticise his former cabinet colleagues.
When asked about the lockdown announced by Mr Johnson in March 2020, Mr Gove said: " A decision to restrict freedoms in an unprecedented way went against his instincts and the principles that governed his political outlook. "
The Levelling up secretary said Mr Johnson preferred " gladiatorial decision-making" and wanted to see opposing arguments " rehearsed in front of him".
Mr Gove also said he had a " high opinion of Matt Hancock and believe many of the decisions he made displayed foresight and wisdom".
Mr Hancock is due to begin his evidence to The Inquiry on Thursday, with Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak to appear before Christmas.
Mr Gove told The Inquiry ministers like himself who believed the government should have acted earlier had a responsibility to point out to the then-Prime Minister the need for action.
" I don't think that one can single out the Prime Minister at The Time for criticism, " Mr Gove said. " We all deserve our share retrospectively of criticism. "
Admissions of failureThe senior Conservative MP said the UK was not well enough prepared for the pandemic, that testing should have been better planned and that there were errors with PPE procurement.
He acknowledged there was not enough Focus On the impact On Children .
In a foul-mouthed WhatsApp exchange with Mr Cummings at The Beginning of the pandemic, Mr Gove said the government was " missing golden opportunities" to act.
He wrote: " I will carry on doing what I can but the whole situation is Even Worse than you think and action needs to be taken or we will regret it for a long time. "
When asked to expand on his comments, Mr Gove said at The Time he was concerned about the " ability and structure" of the Cabinet Office to deliver government's priorities.
He then apologised for his language and added he feared the " weaknesses" in government would be further exposed by Covid.
At one point, the Surrey Heath MP noted there was a significant body of evidence that believes Covid was " man-made" only to be told the issue was not part of The Inquiry 's terms of reference.
Where and how the Covid virus originated is still a matter of intense scientific debate.
One controversial school of Thought - which has been described as a " likely" explanation by The Fbi - is that The Virus was accidentally leaked by a Chinese laboratory which was researching similar viruses.
When asked about Mr Gove's comments, the Prime Minister 's spokesperson said The World Health Organisation " needs to continue to examine all possibilities" about the origins of Covid.
Former deputy chief medical officer Professor Dame Jenny Harries is due to give evidence later on Tuesday.
Later This Week , The Inquiry will also take evidence from Mr Hancock and the former Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab .
The Inquiry is taking evidence as part of its second module on core UK decision-making and political governance.
Related TopicsSource of news: bbc.com
