It is astonishing that it has taken so long for self-styled superbrain Dominic Cummings to figure out that the man he put into No 10 is “unfit for the job” (Report, 26 May). The rest of us have been painfully aware of this for many years, and never more so than over the last 18 months. While Cummings’ testimony was full of sanctimonious bile and he is not known for his honesty, as long as Boris Johnson refuses to initiate a timely public inquiry this may be the best opportunity we get to see behind the curtain and reveal the mishandling of the pandemic by this “confederacy of dunces” led by Johnson and Cummings. Jane Barrett Buxton, Derbyshire
• My brother died from Covid at the very time that Cummings was taking a Durham holiday and going for his eyesight test. Heartbreaking as it was to lose my intelligent, witty and kind brother, it is even sadder to read about Cummings’ performance in parliament. He merely tells us what we already knew: the utter ineptitude of this government. I do not need to witness one dishonest man criticising others in power; they all bear responsibility for the 704 who died on the same day as my brother, and for the tens of thousands who have died since. What I do need is for the inquiry to begin now, in 2021, so that the truth can be laid bare before those responsible have moved on and can brush off how their appalling ineptitude killed so many. Lynne Hamshaw Frithville, Lincolnshire • Dominic Cummings sprang few surprises other than fake humility – “thousands of people could have done a better job than me” – and naivety that lying should have been enough to get Matt Hancock sacked. I waited in vain for him to identify the joint chair of the meeting as a key player in the lack of preparedness. Jeremy Hunt had been health secretary for six years to 2018, during which time he had focused on priorities such as provoking a doctors’ strike rather than learning the lessons of the 2016 exercise that had highlighted steps to improve the UK’s response to a pandemic. Les Bright Exeter, Devon
• Instead of blaming a few individuals for Britain’s delay in responding to the crisis, Cummings should have realised that the task is impossible with an overcentralised government. Germany did better, as it also does with its economy, because of its regional structure and the principle of subsidiarity. Dr Nicholas Falk Executive director, Urbed Trust • It was good to see that Mandy Rice-Davies can still feature in a Guardian editorial (26 May). The memory of her famous sentence will outlast anything uttered by Cummings or Johnson. Geoff Reid Bradford • So Cummings has apologised fulsomely for the part he played in the handling of the crisis. When can we expect a similar mea culpa for leading us out of the EU? Jill Adam Condom, France • We rightly condemn ministers and the prime minister for mishandling the pandemic, but should we not also condemn ourselves for voting them into office? Valerie Crews Beckenham, London • Perhaps Cummings has been to Barnard Castle to test his hindsight? Valerie Gidlow Faversham, Kent • Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication.