RISHI Sunak today refused to be drawn on bombshell messages showing Matt Hancock ignored crucial safety advice during the pandemic.
Leaked WhatsApp messages have revealed the ex-Health Secretary rejected Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty’s advice to test “all people going into care homes”.
At PMQ today Rishi Sunak refused to be drawn on bombshell messages that show Matt Hancock ignored crucial safety advice during the pandemic
Matt Hancock is under fire over his handling of the pandemic
At first Hancock welcomed the suggestion as a “good positive step”.
But he then changed his mind.
He told officials he only wanted to test people entering care homes from hospital — not those from the wider community.
In messages leaked to the Daily Telegraph, the I’m A Celeb contestant said doing both would “muddy the waters” — asking officials to “tell me if I’m wrong”.
At PMQs Mr Sunak refused to be drawn on the scandal, insisting it is for the independent Covid-19 public inquiry to pass judgement on how ministers handled the pandemic.
“Rather than comment on piecemeal bits of information, the right way for these things to be looked at is the Covid inquiry,” Mr Sunak said.
He implored MPs to “let them get on and do their job”.
In response Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer challenged the PM to provide the inquiry with all the resources it needs in order to produce a report by the end of the year.
The inquiry has so far cost taxpayers £85 million.
Sir Keir said: “We don’t know the truth of what happened yet.
“There are too many messages and too many unknowns, however families across the country will look at this and the sight of politicians writing books portraying themselves as heroes or selectively leaking messages. It will be an insulting and ghoulish spectacle for them.”
A total of 17,678 people died of Covid in care homes in England between April 17 and August 13.
Last night a spokesperson for Hancock said: “The story spun on care homes is completely wrong. What the messages show is that Mr Hancock pushed for testing of those going into care homes when that testing was available.”
Speaking in the Commons after PMQs, Health Minister Helen Whately described the disclosure of texts as only “selective snippets” that give “a limited and at times misleading insight into the machinery of government”.
The ex-minister was due to speak to students at Cambridge University tonight, but today his team cancelled the visit in light of bad press.
