by Matt Hancock has denied claims he has rejected the recommendation that all residents entering English care homes be tested for coronavirus, describing them as a “distorted account” that is “twisted to fit the anti-lockdown programme”.
A Daily Telegraph investigation based on a leak of more than 100,000 WhatsApp messages says the then health secretary ignored Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, and instead prioritized testing people discharged from hospital into care homes.
The MP denied the “distorted account” and a spokesperson claimed the messages leaked by journalist Isabel Oakeshott after she worked on his Pandemic Diaries memoir were “rotated to suit the anti-lockdown agenda”.
The Telegraph investigation claims that Whitty told Hancock in April 2020 that tests should be carried out on “everyone who ends up in care homes”.
But the news suggests Hancock has rejected the guidelines, telling an adviser the movement is “muddling the waters” and introducing mandatory testing for people arriving from hospitals.
Hancock has expressed concerns that expanding nursing home testing could “undermine” the goal of 100,000 daily coronavirus tests he was desperate to achieve, according to an investigation.
A spokesman for Hancock said the former health secretary was “considering all options” in response to the leak.
He added: “It is outrageous that this distorted description of the pandemic is being circulated with partial leaks, twisted to fit an anti-lockdown agenda that would cost hundreds of thousands of lives if followed. The news shows that many people are working hard to save lives.
“The full documents have already been made available to the investigation, which is the right place for an objective assessment, so real conclusions can be drawn.
“Those who say there shouldn’t be a lockdown are ignoring the fact that half a million people would have died if we hadn’t been locked down. And for those who say we should never shut ourselves up again, imagine if the disease killed half of those infected and half the population would be infected – just as it is now happening with avian flu in birds. If this disease affected humans, of course we’d want lockdowns.
“The story being told about nursing homes is completely wrong. The news shows that Mr Hancock pushed for people going to care homes to be tested when those tests were available.
“Rather than hanging around and leaking, we need a full, comprehensive investigation to ensure we are as prepared as possible for the next pandemic when it arrives. The Telegraph story is flawed, based on partial swirling leaks – and they didn’t contact Matt before publication.
A source close to Hancock told PA Media news agency: “She has broken a legal NDA (non-disclosure agreement). Her behavior is outrageous.”
The lockdown files investigation also includes:
He claims officials sent Jacob Rees-Mogg a Covid test for one of his children while he was missing.
Hancock tells former Chancellor George Osborne, then editor of the Evening Standard, “I WANT TO HIT THE TARGET!” as he pushed for favorable front-page coverage.
Oakeshott, who described the lockdowns as a “complete disaster”, said she was posting the news because it would take “many years” before an official Covid investigation was completed, which she claimed could be “colossal whitewashing”.
“That’s why I’ve decided to release this sensational collection of private messages – because we absolutely cannot wait any longer for answers,” she said.
In one message, Hancock said Whitty had completed a review and recommended “all people entering care homes be tested and triaged pending results.”
Hancock described it as “obviously a good positive step”.
However, the investigation found that he later replied to the adviser: “Tell me if I’m wrong, but I’d rather skip it and just commit to testing and isolating ALL who come into care from the hospital. I don’t think community involvement will do anything to muddy the waters.”
Hancock’s spokesman said the “Telegraph story is flawed”, arguing that “instead of spins and leaks, we need a full, comprehensive investigation.”
“It is outrageous that this distorted description of the pandemic is being circulated with partial leaks, twisted to suit an anti-lockdown agenda that would cost hundreds of thousands of lives if followed. The news shows that many people are working hard to save lives,” the spokesman said.
“Those who say there shouldn’t be a lockdown are ignoring the fact that half a million people would have died if we hadn’t been locked down. And for those who say we should never shut ourselves up again, imagine if the disease killed half of those infected and half the population would be infected – just as it is now happening with avian flu in birds. If this disease affected humans, we would obviously want to shut it down.”
He continued: “The story being told about nursing homes is completely wrong. The news shows that Mr Hancock pushed for people going to care homes to be tested when those tests were available. Full documents have already been made available to the investigation, which is the right place for an objective assessment, so real conclusions can be drawn.”
In September 2020, during a severe backlog of tests, news suggests that an adviser to Hancock helped send the test to the home of Rees-Mogg, a senior Conservative.
An adviser sent a message to Hancock to say the lab had “lost” the original test for one of the children of the then leader of the House of Commons, “so we have a courier going to their family home tonight.”
He added: “Jacob’s spad (special adviser) is aware of this and has helped to level it all out, but you may want to write to Jacob.”
Commenting on the claim, Liberal Democrat vice-president Daisy Cooper said: “This is further proof that this is one rule for Conservative ministers and another for everyone else. The Covid inquiry must examine reports where Conservative ministers were able to gain priority access to testing during a national shortage.”
Struggling to meet his own goal of 100,000 coronavirus tests a day, the investigation shows that Hancock texted his former boss Osborne to “ask for a favor”.
Hancock said he had thousands of free test slots, which was “good news about the spread of the virus” but “difficult for my purpose” because he asked for front-page coverage.
Osborne replied, “Yes – of course – all you have to do tomorrow is give the Standard a few exclusive words and I’ll tell the team to spill it.”
The health secretary at the time later added, “I WANT TO HIT THE TARGET!”
