Matt Hancock 'rejected' advice on care home Covid testing

The allegations are based on more than 100,000 leaked WhatsApp messages obtained by the Daily Telegraph giving an insight into the way the government operated at the height of the Covid-19 crisis.

Mr Hancock is battling these claims and vehemently denies overruling clinical advice.

A spokesman for Mr Hancock said: “These stolen messages have been doctored to create a false story that Matt rejected clinical advice on care home testing. This is flat wrong.”

Matt Hancock's messages with Sir Chris Witty were leaked (Image: PA)

What did the WhatsApp messages concern?

The Telegraph’s investigation said that England’s chief medical officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty told the then-health secretary in April 2020 there should be testing for “all going into care homes”.

Mr Hancock described it as “obviously a good positive step” in the messages.

But the exchanges, from April 14, 2020, suggest Mr Hancock ultimately rejected the guidance, telling an aide the move just “muddies the waters”, and introduced mandatory testing only for those coming from hospitals rather than the community.

The messages were provided to the Telegraph by journalist Isabel Oakeshott, who was handed them by Mr Hancock while she worked on his Pandemic Diaries memoir.

Ms Oakeshott, who has described lockdowns as an “unmitigated disaster”, said she was releasing the messages because it would take “many years” before the end of the official Covid inquiry, which she claimed could be a “colossal whitewash”.

The WhatsApp messages were leaked by journalist Isabel Oakeshott who had been handed them by Matt Hancock while she worked in his memoir (Image: PA)

“That’s why I’ve decided to release this sensational cache of private communications – because we absolutely cannot wait any longer for answers,” she said.

What did Matt Hancock's spokesman say on the matter?

Matt Hancock's spokesman said that the former health secretary “enthusiastically accepted” the advice from Sir Chris on April 14.

It was clarified that “later that day he convened an operational meeting on delivering testing for care homes where he was advised it was not currently possible to test everyone entering care homes, which he also accepted”.

The spokesman added: “Matt concluded that the testing of people leaving hospital for care homes should be prioritised because of the higher risks of transmission, as it wasn’t possible to mandate everyone going into care homes got tested.”

Declining to comment directly on the leaks, a Government spokesman said: “We have always said there are lessons to be learnt from the pandemic.

“We are committed to learning from the Covid inquiry’s findings, which will play a key role in informing the Government’s planning and preparations for the future.”

What was said at PMQs about the incident?

The issue of the leaked WhatsApp messages was brought up during Prime Minister's Questions today (Wednesday, March 1).

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: "Families across the country will look at this, and the sight of politicians writing books portraying themselves as heroes, or selectively leaking messages, will be an insulting and ghoulish spectacle for them.

Keir Starmer speaking at the PMQs session (Image: House of Commons/PA)

“At the heart of this is every family who made enormous sacrifices for the good of the country, or who tragically lost loved ones.

“The country deserves better."

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took a different route, backing an official Covid inquiry as the “right way” to scrutinise the handling of the pandemic.

He said: "The last couple of years were incredibly difficult for everyone involved in the health service.

“Rather than comment on piecemeal bits of information […] the right way for this to be looked at is the Covid inquiry.

“He will know […] that there is a proper process to these things.

“What we should all do in this House is let them get on and do their job.”