Matt Hancock: Eight government WhatsApp Covid messages revealed

WhatsApp messages sent by Matt Hancock erstwhile helium was wellness caput during the pandemic person been revealed.

The messages, including conversations with ministers and officials, supply an penetration into the interior workings of authorities astatine the tallness of the pandemic.

Here are a fewer of the backstage texts published successful the Daily Telegraph newspaper. The BBC has not seen oregon independently verified the WhatsApp messages nor the discourse successful which they were sent.

After congratulating the past acquisition caput Sir Gavin Williamson connected delaying A-level exams for a fewer weeks - a shorter play than immoderate teaching unions called for - Mr Hancock had immoderate prime words.

On 1 October 2020, Mr Hancock messaged Sir Gavin: "Cracking announcement today. What a clump of implicit arses the teaching unions are."

Sir Gavin replied: "I cognize they truly really bash conscionable hatred work."

In response, Mr Hancock returned 2 laughing retired large and a bullseye emoji.

Mr Hancock texted his aged brag George Osborne, ex-chancellor and then-Evening Standard editor, connected 28 April 2020 to "call successful a favour" asking for a favourable beforehand page, arsenic helium tried to scope his ain deadline to scope 100,000 regular Covid tests.

Mr Osborne replied: "Yes - of people - each you request to bash time is springiness immoderate exclusive words to the Standard and I'll archer the squad to splash it."

After replying with a quote, Hancock aboriginal writes successful superior letters: "I WANT TO HIT MY TARGET!"

The exertion answered bluntly: "I gathered."

In different interaction, connected 9 November 2020 Mr Hancock asked for an mentation astir Mr Osborne calling for Boris Johnson to marque investigating his fig 1 precedence and insisted: "OK but wide investigating is going precise well."

"No-one thinks investigating is going well, Matt," Mr Osborne replied.

Sir Gavin, messaging Mr Hancock, connected 10 May 2020 up of schools reopening, asked for the wellness secretary's assistance successful getting idiosyncratic protective instrumentality (PPE) for schools "as a past edifice truthful they can't usage it arsenic a crushed not to open".

The acquisition caput texted: "All of them volition [open] but immoderate volition conscionable privation to accidental they can't truthful they person an excuse to debar having to teach, what joys!!!"

Boris Johnson had misgivings astir the government's shielding proposal successful discussions with the main aesculapian serviceman Prof Sir Chris Whitty. In August 2020 the then-prime curate suggested that if renewed lockdown restrictions were needed over-65s beryllium offered a prime connected shielding.

Mr Johnson, addressing Sir Chris successful a WhatsApp radical connected 9 August, said: "If you are implicit 65 your hazard of dying from Covid is astir apt arsenic large arsenic your hazard of falling down stairs. And we don't halt older radical from utilizing stairs. What bash you think?"

Sir Chris conceded that helium "would deliberation doubly earlier shielding unless it threatened the NHS". Chief technological advisor Sir Patrick Vallance replied: "We haven't recovered shielding casual oregon precise effectual archetypal clip round."

Only a fewer days previously, shielding had ended for much than 2 cardinal clinically susceptible radical successful England, Scotland and Wales. Since March 2020 they had been advised to enactment astatine location to debar contracting Covid. Shielding aboriginal returned.

Helen Whately, who was societal attraction curate astatine the time, travelled 50 miles to a Covid trial centre truthful a comparative could beryllium tested successful September 2020, according to the Telegraph. There were restricted numbers of location investigating kits and the nationalist had to publication a slot astatine a investigating centre, wherever they could swab themselves and it would beryllium sent to a laboratory.

Speaking of the acquisition connected 19 September, she messaged Mr Hancock: "So my enigma buying shows the strategy is decidedly working, astatine slightest for some."

Mr Hancock enthusiastically replied "for MOST!", contempt UK labs struggling to support with request and radical being asked to travel hundreds of miles to get tested.

Mr Hancock clashed with Sir Gavin implicit whether to adjacent schools up of their instrumentality January 2021.

In backstage WhatsApp messages with a peculiar adviser, helium said helium had to instrumentality "rear defender action" to guarantee schools did not open, portion the then-education caput was battling to support children successful school.

During a gathering connected Zoom connected 28 December 2020 to determine connected the destiny of students, Mr Hancock and his peculiar advisor Emma Dean appeared to nonstop each different messages commenting connected the call, according to the Telegraph.

Ms Dean said: He's [Sir Gavin] freaking out. You tin archer helium isn't being wholly rational."

Mr Hancock got his mode arsenic schools closed days aboriginal amid a nationalist lockdown.

In an earlier speech successful September the pairtook purpose astatine Sir Gavin pursuing the acquisition caput being forced to wantonness A-level and GCSE students being fixed grades by algorithm.

Replying to Ms Dean's proposition Gavin looked atrocious and questioning if the acquisition caput was OK, Mr Hancock said: "He needs a haircut and a vacation determination different than Scarborough!"

During the May 2020 thrust to deed the 100,000 tests per time target, trucks afloat were bought from Amazon.

Mr Hancock was disquieted the authorities could look "flaky" if it was accused of utilizing them to pad the stats.

But determination was jubilation erstwhile the people was deed - not slightest from Gina Coladangelo, the adjutant with whom Mr Hancock had an affair.

She messaged: "Drinks acold successful fridge astatine [Department for Health]. Feel escaped to unfastened them earlier we are backmost [beer emoji]".

But problems continued. Mr Johnson admitted successful June helium was "going softly crackers" implicit capacity, asking "what is incorrect with america arsenic a state that we can't hole this?".

In September, Mr Hancock was advised to debar an interrogation with Andrew Neil "because helium could spell hard connected testing".

One acceptable of messages shows Boris Johnson getting successful a muddle implicit statistics.

He flagged a Financial Times nonfiction stating the planetary lawsuit fatality complaint had fallen beneath 0.04. Mr Johnson wanted to cognize wherefore the British decease complaint appeared to beryllium overmuch higher astatine 4%.

Chief technological serviceman Sir Patrick, main aesculapian serviceman Sir Chris, adjutant Dominic Cummings, Cabinet Secretary Simon Case and Mr Hancock each chipped in.

When Mr Vallance yet pointed retired the FT fig is simply a probability, not a percentage, the PM replied "Eh" followed by different connection speechmaking simply "?".

He offers "five marks" to whoever tin explicate the quality and asks them to "show working" - earlier Mr Cummings assures him it is simply a "common confusion".

In the aforesaid exchange, Mr Johnson says helium "knows what I would prefer" if helium was 80 and fixed a prime betwixt vulnerability to Covid-19 and "destroying the economy".

A postulation of much than 100,000 messages sent betwixt erstwhile Health Secretary Matt Hancock and different ministers and officials astatine the tallness of the Covid-19 pandemic person been obtained by the Telegraph. Here are our stories connected the leaks: