The painfully slow and costly Covid-19 public inquiry cross-examined Matt Hancock yesterday. Here was a chance to question the man who took many of the big decisions during the pandemic. Perhaps the inquiry would thrash out some of the burning questions about lockdowns and whether – in hindsight – the social and economic costs were all worth it. Guess what happened…
A good chunk of time was instead spent navel-gazing about whether Covid was made worse by… Brexit. Responding to the idea that the lack of pandemic preparedness was the fault of no-deal Brexit preparations, Hancock issued this punchy rejoinder:
“The work done for a no-deal Brexit on supply chains was the difference between running out of medicines in the peak of the pandemic and not running out. We came extremely close within hours of running out of medicines for intensive care during the pandemic… I think the only reason we didn’t run out is because of [that] work… which they did during 2019 in preparation for a no-deal Brexit, but became extremely useful in saving lives during the pandemic.”
He went on:
“At the point at which the pandemic struck, because of the no-deal Brexit work, we knew more about the pharmaceutical supply chain in the UK than at any time in history. We had relationships with the pharmaceutical suppliers and the data to know exactly who had what available and where and the extent of that information was the difference between running out and not running out of drugs in intensive care in the pandemic.”
Guido suspects that’s not what an audience of largely Remain-supporting lawyers and public health big wigs wanted to hear. Do Remainers think we beat Covid #DespiteBrexit?
Matt Hancock has just finished giving a personal statement to the Commons, apologising for “inadvertently” committing a “minor breach” of the Members’ Code of Conduct. In a short contribution, he said:
“The Committee on Standards found that I did not seek to break the rules, had no prospect of personal gain and acted without malice. However they recommended that I apologised to the House and the Commissioner for this minor breach… I am happy to do so.”
Case closed.
Matt Hancock has been told he must apologise to MPs for a “minor breach” of the Commons Code of Conduct, with sleaze commissioner Daniel Greenberg ruling Hancock had broken Commons rules by attempting to “lobby” Greenberg over another potential breach of the Code. Now he’s been told to ‘fess up, having previously claimed it was a “misunderstanding”…
Today Greenberg said Hancock had
“sought to influence his consideration of whether a breach of the Code”, with the standards committee adding it “agrees with the Commissioner that Mr Hancock breached paragraph 14 of the Code of Conduct for Members, which concerns lobbying the Commissioner, when sending an unsolicited letter to the Commissioner on March 28”.
More of a (Han)cock up than anything else…
Jolyon and the Good Law Project have spent the last few days shouting to the rooftops about their big “exclusive”, which reveals “secret” messages between then-Health Secretary Matt Hancock and two Conservative donors as they discuss Covid procurement at the height of the pandemic. Messages which even the Guardian admit show “no suggestion that Mohammed or Amersi [the donors] acted unlawfully”…
Along with the obligatory self-congratulation throughout the GLP’s story, the article includes a quote from Hancock’s spokesperson:
“Matt’s pleased these messages have been released by the department. Government Covid contracts were decided, priced and signed off by the civil service, who are independent of ministers. What happened was a huge amount of hard work to save lives. To suggest any wrongdoing is ridiculous”.
“Matt’s pleased these messages have been released by the department because they debunk the absurd conspiracy theories peddled by the GLP and show him acting entirely properly. As the GLP knows, Government Covid contracts were decided, priced and signed off by the civil service, who are independent of ministers. What happened was a huge amount of hard work to save lives. To suggest any wrongdoing is ridiculous.”
While they’re in the business of publishing messages, what happened to those WhatsApps they received in February between Hancock and his “publican friend Alex Bourne“? Are they going to be published too, or do they not fit the narrative?
Whilst news of Reclaim’s big announcement was already out ahead of today’s press conference, Andrew Bridgen did make one surprise revelation towards the end of proceedings. He informed the audience:
“I have submitted a defamation claim to the Royal Court of Justice against one Matthew Hancock MP. The basis of my claim is that Mr Hancock’s accusation of antisemitism against me is a false slur to deliberately try and shutdown valid concerns raised by me on behalf of my constituents and thousands of others around the world about the safety and efficacy of experimental Covid 19 injections.”
Popcorn at the ready…
UPDATE: Matt Hancock isn’t backing down. His spokesperson said:
“Matt will defend this absurd action, which is a pathetic publicity stunt. The claim has no credible basis and when Matt wins the case, he will also seek to recover all costs. Vaccines save lives, and Matt will always defend science and progress against unfounded conspiracy theories that put peoples’ health at risk.”
The latest Register of Interests update has been released, and as always, Guido brings you the highlights. Boris has had another good showing, taking £239,009.42 for his speech in Lagos, although £180,323.85 was deducted in relation to an advance paid out earlier this year. Boris wasn’t the only ex-Prime Minister remunerated for their oratory skills… although Liz Truss isn’t quite cashing the big cheques just yet. She received £7,600 to cover travel and accommodation for her trip to D.C. for the Margaret Thatcher Freedom Lecture last month. Although she also registered a £50,000 private donation from business tycoon Jeremy Hosking to “for staff and office costs to support [her] with policy”…
Keir Starmer accepted two tickets worth a total of £700 to watch Arsenal draw with West Ham, courtesy of Mulalley & Co. Limited. His Shadow Cabinet colleague David Lammy accepted his usual pocket money from LBC, this time worth £4,000. Over on GB News, Jacob Rees-Mogg received £32,083.34 for the 40 hours’ work put in for his new show. A price worth paying to repeatedly whack Piers in the ratings…
The testicle-munching jungle bronze medallist Matt Hancock is still bringing home the TV big bucks, taking in a whopping £10,000 for a single interview on Good Morning Britain. He also got £1,600 to read out the audiobook he co-authored with Isabel Oakeshott. Which might help with any legal bills after she gave his WhatsApps to the Telegraph.
Finally, Neil Hudson, Graham Stuart, Bill Wiggin, Nigel Adams, Aaron Bell, and Crispin Blunt each received £700 to head to sunny Corfu for a cricket tournament whilst Parliament was sitting. As always, nice work if you can get it…
