Matt Hancock: Leaked messages suggest plan to frighten public

Matt Hancock suggested to an adjutant that they "frighten the pants disconnected everyone" messages published by the Sunday Telegraph show.

It appears the erstwhile wellness caput discussed erstwhile to uncover the beingness of the Kent variant of Covid, to guarantee radical comply with lockdown rules.

In different exchange, the Head of the Civil Service, Simon Case, suggested the "fear/guilt factor" was captious to the government's messaging.

The BBC has not verified the messages.

More than 100,000 WhatsApp messages were leaked to the Telegraph by the writer Isabel Oakeshott, who has been a vocal professional of lockdowns.

The erstwhile wellness caput has repeatedly criticised the leaks, referring to the published messages arsenic a "partial, biased relationship to suit an anti-lockdown agenda."

In an speech betwixt Mr Hancock and an adjutant from 13th December 2020, the erstwhile wellness caput discusses erstwhile to "deploy" the announcement of the caller variant.

They are talking astir the anticipation of the London Mayor Sadiq Khan resisting a imaginable lockdown for London.

The Department of Health advisor suggests: "Rather than doing excessively overmuch guardant signalling, we tin rotation transportation with the caller strain."

Mr Hancock says: "We frighten the pants of everyone with the caller strain."

The advisor responds: "Yep, that's what volition get due behaviour change."

The curate past asks: "When bash we deploy the caller variant."

Mr Hancock announced the caller variant the pursuing day.

In a abstracted WhatsApp speech from January 2021, erstwhile lockdown measures were successful place, Mr Hancock is seen discussing imaginable changes with the Cabinet Secretary Simon Case

Mr Case warns against making tiny changes to the rules arsenic looking "ridiculous". He talks astir "ramping up messaging" adding the "fear/guilt factor" was "vital".

In a connection responding to the leaks, Matt Hancock said: "There is perfectly nary nationalist involvement lawsuit for this immense breach. All the materials for the publication person already been made disposable to the Inquiry, which is the right, and only, spot for everything to beryllium considered decently and the close lessons to beryllium learned.

"As we person seen, releasing them successful this mode gives a partial, biased relationship to suit an anti-lockdown agenda."

The erstwhile Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe, told the BBC's Stephen Nolan connected Radio 5 Live that she had been "just arsenic overmuch against lockdown arsenic Isabel Oakeshott" but recovered the leaks "profoundly unhelpful".

In different newly-released leaked messages, Boris Johnson spoke of the request to get "absolutely militant" connected societal distancing successful Covid hotspots, saying determination had been a "general collapse" successful regularisation following.

In a WhatsApp speech with Simon Case from July 2020, helium wrote: "We request to archer radical that if they privation to prevention the system and support the NHS past they request to travel the rules.

"And we whitethorn request to tighten the rules. You tin present person 6 radical from antithetic households indoors. Do radical truly recognize that and are they observing it?" helium asked.

The speech came 1 period aft the PM broke the rules himself.

Mr Johnson, his woman Carrie, and the then-chancellor, Rishi Sunak, each received 1 good each for attending a day enactment thrown successful the ex-PM's honour successful June 2020.

A spokesperson for Boris Johnson said it was not due to remark connected these leaks, and added that the nationalist enquiry provided the close process for these issues to beryllium examined.

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 immoderate of our stories connected the leaks: