Matt Hancock mocked by lawyer Hugo Keith after failing to seek out proof of Boris Johnson name
Matt Hancock has been mocked by Covid inquiry lead counsel Hugo Keith KC for having a “little pocket book” to seek advice from, after the ex-health secretary mentioned he had used a break to uncover new proof of a cellphone name between himself and Boris Johnson.
The MP claimed his cellphone name with Mr Johnson on 28 February 2020 was the second authorities “actually began to come back into motion”, and claimed that had his personal “doctrine” been adopted, the primary lockdown would have come three weeks earlier – saving 90 per cent of those that died within the first wave.
However Dominic Cummings claimed Matt Hancock was “flat out mendacity” to the Covid inquiry by claiming he pressed the prime minister for a lockdown on 13 March, and claimed to have “bodily stopped” Mr Hancock coming to a gathering the next day as a result of he “was bull****ting everyone about herd immunity”.
In an escalating disagreement, Mr Hancock claimed to the inqury that Mr Cummings was a “malign affect” who created a poisonous “tradition of worry”.
ICYMI: Matt Hancock not advised about Eat Out to Assist Out
Matt Hancock was not advised about Eat Out to Assist Out till the day the scheme was introduced, by which era it was a “executed deal”, he advised the inquiry yesterday.
He joins main authorities scientists in not being advised prematurely about Rishi Sunak’s scheme – when he was chancellor – to revive the hospitality business in the summertime of 2020.
Mr Hancock, who was well being secretary on the time, mentioned he discovered concerning the scheme within the Cupboard assembly on the morning it was introduced.
The plan shaped a part of Mr Sunak’s summer time financial replace on July 8 2020, and supplied 50% off the price of meals and/or non-alcoholic drinks.
Mr Hancock advised the inquiry: “I didn’t know concerning the Eat Out to Assist Out scheme till the Cupboard assembly on the morning of its announcement.”
Katy Clifton1 December 2023 04:00
Recap: What was in Matt Hancock’s testimony on Thursday?
Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell has this fast round-up of immediately’s occasions:
- Matt Hancock accused Dominic Cummings of fostering a “tradition of worry” which hamstrung the federal government’s response to the pandemic
- The previous well being secretary denied having lied his method by means of the pandemic, saying there was “no proof” to again up claims he was dishonest – as an alternative pointing the finger at Mr Cummings for making a “poisonous” tradition
- He confirmed claims that Mr Cummings exerted “too nice an affect” on Mr Johnson, even accusing the adviser of creating a “energy seize”
- He accused Mr Cummings of mendacity to the official probe into the pandemic
- Mr Hancock denied having sought to play God through the pandemic, after the previous chief of the NHS mentioned he needed to “determine who lived and who died”
- He mentioned Britain would have saved “many, many lives” by locking down three weeks earlier
- And Mr Hancock admitted he was not studying minutes of Sage conferences till February
Andy Gregory1 December 2023 02:00
Hancock: ‘I didn’t suppose there was a trade-off between well being and economic system
Requested whether or not Boris Johnson had a “constant strategy” throughout debates over “opening up” after the primary lockdown, Matt Hancock mentioned yesterday: “I believe it’s honest to say that the prime minister felt strongly the arguments for the safety of well being and the arguments for liberty and the safety of the economic system.
“My explicit beef was that I didn’t suppose there was a commerce off in any respect. And it wasn’t an both or, you couldn’t select between both.
“And my intense frustration was that economists on the Treasury, and elsewhere, couldn’t see that that though you might shield the economic system by not locking down this week or subsequent week, the second spherical consequence of that might be a firmer, extra economically damaging lockdown sooner or later.
“And I couldn’t get them to see it, it was deeply irritating that it was in opposition to the financial curiosity in addition to in opposition to the well being curiosity to keep away from the motion that was needed.”
He added: “Late August was irritating as a result of in July, the prime minister had been extraordinarily involved that there was a second wave, and it’s mirrored within the varied communications after which got here again from vacation and was far more involved with not locking down and I discovered that an issue.”
Andy Gregory1 December 2023 00:30
Full report: Matt Hancock insists he’s not a liar and blames allegations on ‘poisonous’ Dominic Cummings
Matt Hancock launched a unprecedented fightback in opposition to claims by Dominic Cummings that had “lied his method by means of the pandemic” and “killed folks”.
In a extremely anticipated listening to on the Covid inquiry, the previous well being secretary attacked Mr Cummings as a “malign actor” in Downing Avenue who had fostered a “tradition of worry” throughout authorities.
And he denied being a liar, as an alternative pointing the finger at Mr Cummings for making a “poisonous tradition” wherein ministers and officers sought in charge one another for Covid-era errors.
Mr Hancock mentioned Mr Cummings, Boris Johnson’s prime aide through the pandemic, had “abused” workers throughout Whitehall. And, terribly, he went on to accuse Mr Cummings of himself mendacity to the official Covid-19 Inquiry.
Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell has the total report right here:
Andy Gregory30 November 2023 22:50
Hancock says he didn’t assist ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown
The previous well being secretary mentioned: “I used to be in favour of more durable measures that might get R beneath one, particularly within the areas the place circumstances have been highest.
“I used to be I used to be not satisfied by the circuit breaker proposal on two grounds: the primary is it’s successfully only a quick lockdown and if you happen to put it in for 2 weeks, I might see why in principle, if for 2 weeks no human would come into contact with some other human then the case numbers would drop dramatically.
“However in the actual world that isn’t how life works. As an example, in hospitals and care properties, folks must work together.
“And secondly, the political affect of repeat the circuit breakers would have been to lose the arrogance of those that we would have liked to have on board to make it occur.
“And I believed we might I believed that subsequently a circuit breaker was not the most effective strategy as a result of principally charges would simply shoot up afterwards. That’s what occurred once they tried one in Wales.”
He added: “My place was to argue initially for more durable native lockdowns and the tier system with a stronger prime tier.
“And I first put that ahead on the finish of August to my very own workforce and it was very irritating that it took me a month to get that coverage in place, much more irritating was that the highest tier was not sufficient to get R beneath one and subsequently not efficient for the duty. That was deeply irritating.
“The second factor was the place nationwide measures just like the rule of six have been proposed. I used to be an enthusiastic supporter.”
Andy Gregory30 November 2023 21:53
Hancock claims he saved issues about Eat Out to Assist Out scheme ‘out of the information’
Matt Hancock saved issues concerning the Eat Out to Assist Out scheme “out of the information” as he believes authorities is a “workforce effort”, he advised the Covid inquiry.
The probe was proven a WhatsApp alternate from August 2020 between the previous well being secretary and Cupboard Secretary Simon Case.
Mr Hancock wrote: “Simply need to let you recognize straight that now we have had a lot of suggestions that Eat Out to Assist Out is inflicting issues in our intervention areas. I’ve saved it out of the information but it surely’s severe. So please please lets not enable the financial success of the scheme to result in its extension.”
Mr Case replied: “Have you ever advised Rishi? I don’t suppose he can afford to increase it!” Mr Hancock wrote: “Sure we’ve advised Treasury – we’ve been defending them within the comms and fortunately it hasn’t bubbled up.”
When requested concerning the alternate by inquiry counsel Hugo Keith, Mr Hancock mentioned he was “being inspired by varied journalists” who presumed he was in opposition to the scheme.
“However I imagine that authorities is a workforce effort. And so I didn’t need that to develop into a row in public,” he added. “You’ll be able to see, throughout the entire pandemic, the corrosive results of leaks.”
Andy Gregory30 November 2023 20:10
Hancock: Officers have been ‘actively working in opposition to’ my plans to ramp up testing
Matt Hancock mentioned that the folks on the “centre” have been “actively working in opposition to” his plans to ramp up testing within the early days of the pandemic.
Requested about his plans to ramp up testing from 10,000 a day on the finish of March 2020, to 100,000 a day on the finish of April, he mentioned: “I now know that there have been folks actively working in opposition to me on it within the centre, which is appalling.”
He added: “What Simon Case described to me as ‘the lengthy screwdriver’, which is comparatively junior folks in No 10 making an attempt to enter the testing programme at a degree too far down, too low, and try to problem diktats was deeply unhelpful over this era. And following correct strains of accountability would have been far more efficient.
“However that’s that wasn’t fairly what I meant, what I meant was the criticism that as an alternative of going for 100,000 assessments, there have been different issues assessments might have been used for is is unsuitable, and unsuitable in logic, as a result of we would have liked the assessments. After all we additionally wanted to work out what we have been going to make use of the assessments for and that was primarily a medical determination.
“However what I wanted to do from once I took over the duty for testing in the course of on March 17 was drive the system, galvanise the system as anyone put it fairly rightly, and asserting a goal – though I didn’t know that we might hit it, which is uncommon in authorities … usually folks solely do issues they’re fairly positive they will obtain. That was completely essential to driving the enlargement of testing, which was so needed in the remainder of the response.
“It’s in fact it’s irritating to me that, in so doing and in in taking that strategy, clearly some folks have been upset by it … it baffles me why folks have been in opposition to the enlargement of testing in that method.”
Andy Gregory30 November 2023 18:32
Hancock says he wasn’t advised about Eat Out to Assist Out scheme
Matt Hancock has mentioned he was not advised prematurely about Rishi Sunak’s Eat Out to Assist Out scheme – echoing the host of prime authorities scientists and medics who additionally advised the inquiry final week of being blindsided by it.
Requested whether or not he knew prematurely about it, the ex-health secretary mentioned: “No. Not forward of its announcement on the eighth of July. Actually circumstances have been nonetheless falling at that time … I didn’t know concerning the Eat Out to Assist Out scheme till the Cupboard assembly on the morning of its announcement.
“And it was one in all a package deal of loosenings. We have been doing quite a few issues to deliver again a little bit of freedom over the summer time.”
Mr Hancock mentioned he didn’t know when requested what view he would have provided on the scheme as well being secretary, to which Hugo Keith mentioned: “Effectively, Mr Hancock. You’ve advised the inquiry that there’s on this debate between warning and permitting launch – and it’s a troublesome debate – a public well being view, which you because the secretary of state are plainly on the aspect of warning, as a result of that’s your job.”
The MP replied: “What mattered within the opening then was that there wasn’t general an excessive amount of. And ultimately there was general an excessive amount of. Which particular person gadgets of opening you probably did or didn’t do is second order in comparison with the general quantity of openings.”
Andy Gregory30 November 2023 17:54
Hancock: No 10 advised me to not say restrictions could be wanted till vaccine arrived
Matt Hancock has mentioned he was advised by No 10 in summer time 2020 to not say that Covid restrictions could be wanted till the arrival of a vaccine – by which level he claims he was “assured” {that a} vaccine would work.
Requested to what extent his issues about easing lockdown measures too quickly in summer time 2020 have been heard and mirrored within the authorities’s actions, he mentioned: “They have been heard, they usually have been mirrored I assume in as a lot as there may need been extra opening had I not made these arguments.
“My complete technique at this level was to attempt to hold R beneath 1. I used to be utterly alongside Chris Whitty at this level on this technique, which was: summer time is the most effective time to launch, if R goes a bit above 1 over the summer time, not the top of the world as long as circumstances are very low, however then we’ll must take motion within the early autumn to get it down once more’.
“However the criticial factor is to maintain it beneath management. And on this interval I articulated what I considered the federal government’s technique, which was: ‘we suppress the virus till a vaccine could make us protected’.”
He claimed that, “after articulating that technique a couple of occasions”, he “then acquired requested by No 10 to not say it as a result of we didn’t know we’d get a vaccine. However I used to be assured by this level that we might get one – and anyway I couldn’t see some other method by means of this with out far too many deaths.”
Andy Gregory30 November 2023 17:25
Hancock ‘involved’ UK’s testing system would battle to be revived if wanted
Matt Hancock has mentioned that he was “involved” that testing capabilities arrange through the pandemic would battle to be stood up once more if wanted.
Calling for the UK to spend extra on well being safety, the ex-health secretary mentioned: “That’s what I’m involved about.”
“As an example, lately one of many main labs was put available on the market. I believe it will likely be that higher if it have been mothballed and able to go on the flick of a swap.”
Andy Gregory30 November 2023 17:06