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PM’s former aide blames UK government for Covid ‘mixed messages’

The BBC reported, a former No 10 communications director has said that UK government communications are "failing in many of its most basic functions" and need to be overhauled.
The BBC said that Lee Cain - who worked for Boris Johnson from 2019 to 2020 - says inexperienced staff and "endemic" leaking damaged the government's Covid response.
This, he argues in a paper, led to the public receiving mixed messages "at a critical time".
According to the BBC, a UK government spokesperson said: "These claims are misleading".
They said in a statement: "

The BBC noted, Mr Cain previously worked on communications for the Vote Leave team during the Brexit referendum and as a special adviser at the Department for Food and Rural Affairs and the Foreign Office.
It added, he quit his Downing Street role in December 2020 amid reports of internal tensions.
Unlike his ally and former No 10 colleague Dominic Cummings, Mr Cain has been less vocal in his condemnation of how government is run since stepping down.
However, his paper for the Institute for Government is strongly critical of the way Whitehall handles media relations and its publicity campaigns.
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He says the pandemic put the structure under "increasing pressure" and that the initial Covid campaigns were "poor" because staff did not have an "adequate understanding of strategic communications or campaigns".
While praising the efforts of many civil servants, he also accuses some press officers of being "afraid" to pick up the phone to journalists.
Responding to these claims, the government said it had "set out clear, targeted and effective communications to help the public protect themselves, directly preventing millions of infections and saving thousands of lives".
It said its Covid campaigns were "reaching an estimated 95% of adults on average 17 times per week at the peak, using every means possible including social media, influencers, radio, TV and widespread digital marketing".
Mr Cain proposes cutting the number of communications officers in Whitehall from 8,000 to 2,000, but also suggests improving the training available.
Specifically he says staff need to be trained so they can produce video clips, use social media and design graphics.
He noted that in the early days of the pandemic, "put starkly, there was nobody with the ability to create slides for the daily press conference" and that often the slides were only sent "moments before press conferences were due to begin".
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The daily press conferences were introduced at the start of the pandemic, and the government had planned to implement daily televised briefings covering all its business.
In April the plan was scrapped, but Mr Cain argues there is an "increased demand" for content and that "change is inevitable".
He says the PM should continue doing televised news briefings after the end of the pandemic in a bid to improve improve transparency and accountability.
Mr Cain also expresses concern about the "millions of pounds of public money" being "squandered annually".
He notes that in 2020/21, £600m was spent on 160 campaigns that have "little impact on the public and simply weren't needed".
Source: BBC
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BENEFIT Sponsors BuildHer...
- April 23, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”
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