Matt Hancock texts reveal concern at plans to relax Covid isolation

Matt Hancock was acrophobic that relaxing Covid isolation rules would connote ministers had been "getting it wrong", leaked messages suggest.

It appears the erstwhile wellness caput was told successful precocious 2020 that technological advisers wanted to effort retired replacing 14-day quarantine for confirmed contacts with 5 days of testing.

He replied that the thought "sounds precise risky" and "like a monolithic loosening".

He besides questioned whether the 14-day play was "too agelong each this time".

The BBC has not been capable to independently verify the messages, betwixt Mr Hancock and England's main aesculapian serviceman Prof Chris Whitty.

The texts are the latest merchandise from much than 100,000 WhatsApp messages leaked to the Telegraph by writer Isabel Oakeshott.

An state of Mr Hancock said the Telegraph's communicative was a "partial account," and the paper "only has partial information".

The leaked speech betwixt the 2 men took spot connected 17 November 2020, erstwhile confirmed contacts of Covid cases successful England had to isolate for 14 days.

Prof Whitty is shown telling Mr Hancock that the UK's main aesculapian officers, arsenic good arsenic Sage, the government's radical of technological advisers, were "in favour" of a aviator "with presumption successful favour of investigating for 5 days successful lieu of isolation (alternative 10 days isolation)".

He added that the aviator was to "check it works" - whilst the MHRA, the medicines regulator, had "not yet signed disconnected for aforesaid use".

In the speech published by the Telegraph, Mr Hancock replies that the thought "sounds similar a monolithic loosening".

Prof Whitty past says that technological modelling "suggests it's beauteous good arsenic good".

In a reply, Mr Hancock says helium is "amazed" - adding that "this sounds precise risky and we can't spell backwards". He asks whether allowing radical to trial for 10 days would beryllium "a safer starting point".

Prof Whitty replies that "we could propulsion to 7 [days]" but "the benefits truly flatten disconnected aft 5".

Mr Hancock is past shown to reply: "So has the 14 time isolation been excessively agelong each this time?"

The main aesculapian serviceman past replies that a 14-day isolation play is "marginally safer than 10" - but astatine the disbursal of reduced compliance, meaning "it astir apt balances out".

Mr Hancock replies that cutting the isolation play to 7 days would beryllium "huge for adherence" but immoderate little than that would "worry radical and connote we'd been getting it wrong".

Prof Whitty past says helium volition "go back" to the main aesculapian officers, adding, "I deliberation they volition beryllium sympathetic to this".

Some exemptions for double-jabbed captious workers were introduced 7 months later, successful July 2021, pursuing disruption to businesses and nationalist services.

The WhatsApp messages were handed to the Telegraph by Ms Oakeshott, who had been fixed them by Mr Hancock for the purposes of co-writing his book, Pandemic Diaries. She has argued determination is simply a nationalist involvement successful publishing the messages.

That statement was been rejected by Mr Hancock, who says helium had already handed the messages implicit to the nationalist enquiry into the pandemic, and their merchandise constitutes a "massive betrayal and breach of trust".

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: