The COVID inquiry has heard evidence about Boris Johnson's attitude to older people when making crunch decisions over lockdown.
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    Sir Patrick Vallance wrote in one of his notebooks in August 2020 that Mr Johnson was "obsessed with older people accepting their fate and letting the young get on with life and the economy going.

    Read more:Politics Live: Top aides to Johnson give evidence at COVID inquiryCummings says No 10 ‘in chaos’ when pandemic hitKey WhatsApps from inquiry revealed

    In between that time, texts show Mr Johnson’s former top aide Dominic Cummings venting about the then prime minister returning to “Jaws mode” - a reference to the mayor in the Spielberg film who wanted to keep the beaches open.

    He said: “It required quick decisions and you need people to hold the course and have that strength of mind to do that over a sustained period of time and not constantly unpick things because that’s where the problems lie.”

    It comes a day after the inquiry heard evidence from Martin Reynolds, the civil servant dubbed “Party Marty” due to his role in the partygate scandal.

    The hearing revealed Mr Johnson’s closest advisers sent despairing messages about his apparent indecision at the height of the pandemic, with one venting that he “cannot lead” and was making government "impossible.

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