What Have We Learned About the Workings of the Government During Covid?

OK, Matt Hancock entrusting his WhatsApp messages to the world’s least trustworthy woman is pretty funny. But is the Telegraph using them to rewrite history on COVID? Plus, our panel gently disagree on the wisdom of Keir Starmer hiring Sue Gray as his Chief of Staff. Sunak bets on cruelty to small boat refugees to reanimate his Prime Ministership. And as Harry and Meghan are turfed out of Frogmore Cottage, which homes were our panel glad to see the back door of?

• “There is no British male who has eaten more complimentary canapés than Stanley Johnson.” – Tom Peck
• “I hadn’t realised how much Simon Case is just another little boy in this WhatsApp group and not a senior civil servant with gravitas.” – Arthur Snell
• “There is a weird Alan Partridge vanity to Hancock. Somehow he’s worried about his legacy?” – Seth Thévoz
• “The more Johnson uses the honour system for outrageously nepotistic means, the easier it is for a future government to get rid of it.” – Tom Peck

Written and presented by Ros Taylor with Arthur Snell, Seth Thévoz and Tom Peck. Audio producer: Alex Rees. Assistant producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Theme music by Cornershop. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices