Matt Hancock denies being dishonest and attributes accusations to Cummings’ negativity.

Matt Hancock today launched an extraordinary fightback against claims by Boris Johnson’s former top adviser Dominic Cummings that he had “lied his way through the pandemic” and “killed people”.

During a much-anticipated hearing at the Covid investigation, the ex-health secretary criticized Mr. Cummings as a “malicious individual” in No 10 who had promoted an atmosphere of apprehension throughout the government.

He refuted accusations of being a liar, which were repeatedly brought up during the inquiry. Instead, he attributed the allegations to Mr. Cummings, claiming that his actions had created a negative environment in which government officials and ministers were quick to shift blame for any errors.

According to Mr Hancock, if the UK had implemented the first lockdown three weeks earlier, countless lives could have been spared. He also stated that he was unable to give media interviews during the height of the pandemic.

He acknowledged that the supposed “protective barrier” that he claimed had been implemented around care homes at the start of the crisis was not completely effective. He also recognized and empathized with the pain and frustration experienced by many on this matter.

During a highly eventful day at the Covid-19 Inquiry:

The main lawyer of the inquiry, Hugo Keith KC, questioned Mr Hancock about his statement that he advised the PM to implement a national lockdown on 13 March, 2020.

Afterwards, Mr. Keith presented the ex-health secretary with his book, Pandemic Diaries, and inquired why he had not documented the intervention when it occurred.

He inquired, “Is it not noteworthy to recall the moment when I advised the prime minister of this country to implement an immediate lockdown for the first time?”

Mr Hancock said since writing book, the information had “come to light” during his preparation for the inquiry. He referenced an email from himself to Mr Johnson in which he called for a “suppression strategy” to tackle the virus.

However, Mr Keith did not seem impressed and stated, “The inquiry is fully aware of that email… Do you use the term immediate or lockdown?” Mr Hancock responded by saying he was unable to provide an answer as he did not have access to the email at the moment.

Critiquing Mr Hancock’s statement in a criticism of X, previously known as Twitter, Mr Cummings alleged that he was “blatantly lying” by asserting that he had privately convinced Mr Johnson to implement the measure and “spouting nonsense” to the inquiry.

Mr. Hancock stated that starting lockdown on 2 March 2020 instead of 23 March 2020 would have saved “many, many lives.”

According to the source, Mr. Johnson was prevented by Downing Street officials from making any public statements about the virus in February 2020. The source also stated that Mr. Johnson was not permitted to give interviews on the matter.

On the evening of February 27th, the former health secretary was informed that, according to data at that time, there was a potential for over 500,000 deaths as a worst-case scenario.

However, the senior MP stated that at that moment, he was still being restricted from communication and was unable to appear on certain radio shows, such as the Today programme.

Mr Hancock also told the inquiry that kept his concerns about then-chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme “out of the news” in the late summer of 2020 as he believed government is a “team effort”.

The former secretary faced intense questioning regarding a WhatsApp conversation from August 2020 with Cabinet secretary Simon Case. In the exchange, the former secretary expressed concerns about the scheme causing issues in their intervention areas. They also stated that they had managed to keep it out of the news, but emphasized the seriousness of the situation.

When questioned about why he kept potentially harmful details regarding the restaurant discount, which was meant to encourage people to go out and spend money again, Mr Hancock stated that he values teamwork in government and did not want the issue to escalate publicly.

The former secretary stated that she was not informed about Mr. Sunak’s plan until the day it was officially announced, at which point it was already finalized.

Mr Hancock acknowledged that the “protective ring” he previously claimed was implemented to safeguard care homes during the early stages of the crisis was not flawless. He maintained his understanding of the pain and frustration many individuals experienced regarding this matter.

When asked about his statement from May 2020, Mr. Hancock explained that he was attempting to briefly explain that they had taken action. However, he later acknowledged to the inquiry counsel that the procedures implemented were not a continuous and seamless process.

During the investigation, it was also revealed that Mr Hancock’s media advisor had cautioned him about a potential issue with the accuracy of his statement to Mr Johnson regarding care homes being “locked down” before the rest of the country.

On May 13th, an adviser sent a WhatsApp message to Matt expressing concerns about him informing the Prime Minister that care homes were locked down before the rest of the country. However, during the inquiry, Mr. Hancock stated that the definition of “locked down” may vary.

Mr Hancock went on to criticize Mr Cummings, holding him responsible for the chaos that plagued the government during the pandemic.

In February 2020, Mr. Cummings orchestrated the removal of Sajid Javid as chancellor, which led to a “culture of fear” within the government that hindered its actions.

He stated to the inquiry that instead of instilling fear, we required a culture that allowed everyone to contribute their ideas and work to their best ability during a rare crisis.

Mr Hancock stated that Mr Cummings believed ministers were not significant in decision-making and avoided emergency Cobra meetings regarding the pandemic.

Instead, he conducted his own meetings where he asserted that “decisions do not require the approval of the prime minister”, according to Mr. Hancock. “This behavior is not acceptable in a democracy, and I viewed it as an attempt to gain control,” he added.

He referred to Mr. Cummings as a harmful force in the government, who mistreated his staff and created a negative work environment during the pandemic.

“My employees also experienced unpleasant treatment from the chief adviser [Mr Cummings],” stated Mr Hancock. “It was more widespread than I initially realized,” he further explained.

Mr. Hancock refuted the claim made by former NHS leader Simon Stevens that he had a desire to determine who would survive and who would not in the event of the health service being overwhelmed.

According to the previous health secretary, the NHS inquired about prioritization in the face of limited capacity after conducting a tabletop exercise for pandemic planning.

“I have determined that the responsibility for making decisions on this matter should lie with clinicians, not ministers… the minutes clearly state this.”

He acknowledged that he did not review the minutes of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) until February.

Mr. Keith inquired if anyone was aware that the health secretary was not reviewing the minutes, to which Mr. Hancock responded, “I am not sure.” Mr. Cummings ridiculed Mr. Hancock for his statement, stating that it “sheds light on many things.”

Source: independent.co.uk