The Covid Inquiry is expected to hear evidence from key civil servants at the heart of Boris Johnson’s government during the pandemic.

Martin Reynolds, the former private secretary and Lee Cain, the former director of communication at No10, will speak on Monday.

Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s former aide, is expected to give evidence on Tuesday and Helen MacNamara, the former deputy cabinet secretary, is due to appear on Wednesday.

It comes after the inquiry was told Boris Johnson was in favour of a Swedish-style approach to the pandemic rather than more lockdowns in autumn 2020.

Prof Sunetra Gupta, an Oxford epidemiologist, said the former prime minister was persuaded that lockdowns could be avoided if less restrictive rules were implemented.

The inquiry says it is independent and selects witnesses on the relevance of their evidence.