The Covid Inquiry is rumbling on this week into the management of the country as the pandemic hit.
Former Government advisor Dominic Cummings has been giving evidence and said that the entire team at Number 10 was in "chaos" trying to work out what to do, with the vulnerable left "appallingly neglected".
The final messages that Boris Johnson sent to Dominic Cummings in the days after his former chief adviser left Downing Street at the height of the pandemic have also been revealed.
Then prime minister Mr Johnson said Number 10 was plagued with a "disgusting orgy of narcissism" and rubbished claims that his now wife Carrie was "secretly forging lockdown policy" in November 2020.
He urged Mr Cummings to work with him to "sterilise the whole thing", adding, "but if you really refuse, then that's up to you".
There appeared to be no response at the time from Mr Cummings, but when asked about the messages at the Covid-19 Inquiry in London on Tuesday, he said there "certainly" was a "disgusting orgy of narcissism".
Now, a man has been named in the inquiry who was influential in deciding policy and how best to move forward.
The evidence has heard how Mr Cummings had written to colleagues telling them no Covid papers should be sent to Mr Johnson without being examined first.
In messages, he wrote: “No papers go to PM on anything related to C19… unless they are cleared by (Tom) Shinner or me – NOBODY ELSE.”
But who is Tom Shinner? Here is everything we know:
Who is Tom Shinner?
Tom Shinner headed the UK's exit from the EU. He is director of policy and delivery co-ordination at the Department for Exiting the European Union.
Mr Shinner was once called 'Mr Big of no-deal Brexit'
He was in charge of seeing the transition operate smoothly across all government departments and his role included "seizing the opportunities and ensure a smooth process of exit" from the union, according to the Government's website.
He previously worked as the director of strategy at the Department for Education and, prior to that, served as senior policy advisor to the Secretary of State for Education. He joined the civil service from a background in management consultancy, having served a variety of public and private-sector clients in Europe and the Middle East.
How was he involved in the management of Covid?
Mr Shinner was once called “Mr Big of no-deal Brexit” and was drafted in to help co-ordinate the Government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The civil servant was appointed to lead a team that provided ministers with a centralised source of information on the coronavirus crisis. A number of officials were being brought back into Government to help handle the response.
He then stepped down as the pandemic was said to be "winding down" according to sources.
What has been said about Tom Shinner in the inquiry?
The inquiry has painted Mr Shinner as a trusted confidante of Mr Cummings during the response to the Covid pandemic as it broke and he is understood to have returned to Government at the personal request of cabinet secretary Sir Mark Sedwill.
During the inquiry, emails between Dominic Cummings, Tom Shinner, and Marc Warner, regarding the daily Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (COBR) reports have been released to the public and it has been heard how he was named as the main man to look over information before it was passed onto the then-prime minister Boris Johnson.
Will Tom Shinner give evidence in the Covid Inquiry?
At present, he has not been named a someone who will give public evidence but his emails, messages, and role in the response is already under scrutiny. For up-to-date news of the inquiry, visit the website here.
