Matt Hancock

The former health secretary’s other misdeeds may have attracted more headlines, but the use of private email and WhatsApp for government business is a serious concern

Brexiteers promised mobile phone roaming charges would not return if we left the EU. It was just another lie It has been a gloomy week on the sunlit uplands of sovereign Britain, where mobile phone users are discovering what Matt Hancock has already learned: Roaming can be costly. If UK tourists are ever allowed into […]

Boris Johnson is a “massive supporter” of health secretary Matt Hancock despite criticising him as “f**king hopeless” in messages revealed by Dominic Cummings, a minister has claimed. Financial secretary to the Treasury Jesse Norman said the prime minister is “firmly behind” Hancock following the extraordinary revelation of private WhatsApps from his former chief aide. No […]

Boris Johnson described health secretary Matt Hancock as “hopeless” early in the coronavirus pandemic, according to a message published by former aide Dominic Cummings. Cummings, who has blamed Hancock for failings during the Covid response, published a screenshot apparently showing a WhatsApp exchange between himself and the prime minister. On March 3 last year, the […]

Boris Johnson is set for showdown talks with the Commons speaker following stinging criticism of the government’s handling of the road map delay announcement. Hoyle initially accused Downing Steet of “running roughshod” over MPs by opting to release details of the unlocking delay to July 19 via a press conference at 6pm on Monday rather […]

Matt Hancock has denied lying to Boris Johnson at any point during the pandemic, telling MPs he has always been driven by an approach of “honesty and integrity”. The health secretary was questioned over allegations made by the prime minister’s former aide Dominic Cummings to the Health and Social Care Committee and Science and Technology […]

Allowing the health secretary to keep his job after committing a “minor” breach of the ministerial code could give “carte blanche” for further rule-breaking at the top of government, Labour has said. A probe by Lord Geidt, the independent adviser on ministerial standards, found that Matt Hancock was guilty of a “technical” breach of the […]

Health secretary Matt Hancock committed a “minor” but undeliberate breach of the ministerial code, the prime minister’s ethics adviser has concluded. Lord Geidt, an independent adviser on ministerial standards, said that by failing to declare that a family firm he held shares in won an NHS contract there had been a “technical” breach. Hancock declared […]

Health secretary Matt Hancock will face MPs and the media to respond to claims from Dominic Cummings that he lied to colleagues and should have been fired for his disastrous performance in the coronavirus pandemic. Hancock did not comment on former No 10 aide Cummings’ explosive claims ahead of his Commons appearance and Downing Street press […]

Health secretary Matt Hancock has rejected the allegations levelled at him by Dominic Cummings. Cummings accused the health secretary of performing “disastrously” below the standards expected and the cabinet secretary – the country’s top civil servant – had recommended he be sacked. “I think the secretary of state for health should’ve been fired for at least […]

Whitehall’s top official recommended to Boris Johnson that health secretary Matt Hancock should be fired over coronavirus failings, Dominic Cummings has claimed. The prime minister’s former adviser said there were around 20 reasons why Hancock should have been given the sack – including, he claimed, lying both in Cabinet room meetings and publicly. He said […]

Health secretary Matt Hancock has released a video in which he is standing in front of an existing hospital and calls it “one of 40 new hospitals we’re going to build” VIOLATION OF THE LAWS OF PHYSICS OF THE WEEK A few days ago, health secretary Matt Hancock released a video in which he is […]

The government can keep the amount of public money spent on unusable personal protective equipment (PPE) from two companies confidential, the High Court has ruled. The Good Law Project and EveryDoctor are bringing legal action against the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) claiming that contracts awarded to PestFix, Clandeboye and Ayanda Capital were […]

A legal challenge over the government’s decision to award more than £650 million in contracts for personal protective equipment (PPE) will be heard at the High Court. The Good Law Project and EveryDoctor claim contracts awarded to PestFix, Clandeboye and Ayanda Capital were given unlawfully at the height of the first wave of the coronavirus […]

Labour has accused Matt Hancock of committing “cronyism at the heart of government” after it was revealed he and his family own shares in a firm that was contracted by the NHS. Hancock declared in the Commons register of MPs’ interests that he now owns shares in Topwood Ltd, a waste disposal company owned by his sister […]

Gordon Brown has said former prime ministers “must never” lobby government for commercial purposes as he admonished David Cameron’s own efforts. The former prime minister also chided ministers who allowed Cameron to lobby them through unofficial channels.  Brown told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Former prime ministers must never be lobbying for commercial purposes. Current […]

David Cameron took scandal-hit financier Lex Greensill for a “private drink” with health secretary Matt Hancock to discuss a payment scheme later rolled out in the NHS. The Sunday Times also reported that the Treasury reconsidered Greensill’s application for an emergency coronavirus loan after the former prime minister messaged a senior adviser to Boris Johnson. […]

The door “is not shut” on holidays abroad this summer and more will be known from government scientists in the next few weeks, the health secretary has said. As outdoor gatherings and sport resumes across England, Matt Hancock said international travel had not been ruled out, though the priority was enabling people in the UK to […]

The government is seeking a “lessons learnt analyst” to help Test and Trace learnt from mistakes made during coronavirus pandemic.  The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has posted a vacancy a the year-long “senior executive officer” role, which will be based in the Joint Biosecurity Centre and be paid £45,000. The job advert for the post, […]

Consultants Deloitte is being paid to help ministers draft parliamentary answers to defend the Test and Trace programme. The responsibility forms part of many under the £323million worth of work Deloitte was drafted to do for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the National Testing Programme. Four different contracts show that Test […]

Welcome to the 2021 Maskies! Yes folks, commemorating 12 months of lockdown, it’s the first – and oh please dear God ONLY – annual Maskies Awards, in which we celebrate those who’ve made the job of being a satirist just that little bit easier over the course of this last plague-ridden year.  THE ‘SNAP YOURSELF […]

Boris Johnson has said coronavirus restrictions are being eased “once and for all” as the UK marks the anniversary of the first national lockdown. The prime minister offered his “sincere condolences to those who have lost loved ones” and praised the “great spirit” displayed ahead of the nation pausing in remembrance on Tuesday. With the […]

Matt Hancock’s department has signed off on two Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) deals worth more than £90million with a state-backed Chinese firm listed at a hotel room in Beijing, new documents show. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) struck two lucrative contracts during the first coronavirus wave with Beijing Union Glory Investment Co Ltd, […]

A junior health minister has been sent to defend the government’s recommendation to give NHS workers in England a 1% pay rise. Health secretary Matt Hancock dodged questions from MPs after Labour called for a response at the despatch box. Shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth had demanded Hancock appear in the House of Commons to make […]

A hunt is underway to locate one of the first people in the UK believed to have contracted the Manaus variant of coronavirus, a new strain that may spread more rapidly and respond less well to existing vaccines. Public Health England (PHE) said on Sunday that six cases of the concerning P.1 variant first detected […]

MITCH BENN starts his weekly look back at some of the highlights and lowlights of recent days… UNFATHOMABLE STRATEGY OF THE WEEK The trouble with an inscrutable and mysterious strategy is that to the untrained eye, it’s indistinguishable from an entirely non-existent one. What is Sir Keir Starmer’s plan as leader of the opposition? Does it […]

Calls for Matt Hancock to resign following the recent court ruling against him over PPE contracts simply underline the problem with bringing such cases.  This week, a lot of people are confused – and very reasonably so. A court has ruled that health secretary Matt Hancock broke the law over Covid-19 related contracts. The ruling seems to […]

MPs have called on Matt Hancock to apologise after he denied there was ever a national shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus pandemic. Shadow Cabinet Office minister Rachel Reeves urged the health secretary to say sorry to NHS and care staff who “had to make makeshift PPE” due to a lack of […]