The media’s gunning for Hancock ramped up another level last night as the fallout from Cummings’s committee appearance continued. In the government press conference, Matt Hancock dodged the question of whether he lied to the PM over care home shielding, as Cummings claimed. The Health Secretary said his “recollection” was that he’d committed to testing all those going from hospitals to care homes “when we could do it”.
Unfortunately for Matt, Peston’s claiming Cummings has documents showing that Matt Hancock was summoned by the PM’s office to No. 10 on the 3rd May, to explain whether he had misled the PM, Cummings and Sedwill on testing residents. Once again, Westminster waits with bated breath for this supposed evidence.
Despite the media leaping on the opportunity for a Cabinet scalp, according to a report by PHE yesterday just 1.6% of outbreaks in care homes were seeded from hospital patient transfers with confirmed Covid, and of these just 286 deaths resulted. The vast majority of deaths were seeded from care staff – not hospital transmission. It’s odd Hancock isn’t pointing this out at every opportunity…
