British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he no longer believed "all this NHS overwhelmed stuff" as he resisted imposing England's second coronavirus lockdown, leaked messages suggest.
Dominic Cummings shared WhatsApps with the BBC as he alleged the British prime minister was reluctant to heighten restrictions because "the people who are dying are essentially all over 80".
In his first broadcast interview, the hostile former chief adviser to Mr Johnson accused his one-time boss of putting "his own political interests ahead of people's lives".
Mr Cummings has repeatedly accused Mr Johnson of being too slow in imposing the second lockdown, which came into force on 5 November.