Latest news with #CovidInquiry
RNZ News
3 hours ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
UK: Chancellor's tears in Parliament,
UK correspondent Natasha Clark joins Kathryn to talk about the unusual scenes in Parliament, with the Chancellor Rachel Reeves shedding tears as the PM refused to say whether she'd remain in her job till the next election. It followed concessions made to the government's controversial Welfare Bill, which passed - but only after it was watered down to appease Labour rebels. Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock has appeared before the Covid inquiry, and could more charges be laid against nurse Lucy Letby? Natasha Clark is political editor for LBC London. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
BBC News
9 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
Covid care home policy was 'least worst decision'
Former health secretary Matt Hancock has denied claims the government's attempt to throw a protective ring around care homes in 2020, early in the Covid pandemic, was empty an irritable exchange he urged the Covid Inquiry to focus on the substance of what the government was doing at the Hancock said the decision to discharge patients from hospitals into care homes when testing was not available, was "the least worst solution".Nicola Brook, a lawyer representing bereaved families called his comments "an insult to the memory of each and every person who died". Mr Hancock was responsible for care services in England where more than 43,000 people died with Covid between March 2020 and January 2022, many of them in the early weeks of the Monday, the lawyer representing a bereaved families group quoted a civil servant who said the high number of deaths in care homes amounted to "generational slaughter".Responding to questions from the barrister to the inquiry Jacqueline Carey KC, Mr Hancock said: "You know there may be campaign groups and politically-motivated bodies that say other things."What I care about though is the substance, and frankly that's what this inquiry should care about after all the millions of pounds that have been spent on it."Inquiry chair Lady Hallett, responded: "And I can assure you, Mr Hancock, it is what I care about."The current section of the Covid inquiry is likely to be "emotive and distressing", Ms Carey has warned. 'Easy to say in hindsight' Questioned by Ms Carey, Mr Hancock acknowledged the discharge policy was an "incredibly contentious issue".But he added: "Nobody has yet provided me with an alternative that was available at the time that would have saved more lives."And he told the inquiry: "It's the least-worst decision that could have been taken at the time."When the pandemic hit early in 2020, hospital patients were rapidly discharged into care homes in a bid to free up beds and prevent the NHS from becoming there was no policy in place requiring patients to be tested before admission, or for asymptomatic patients to isolate, until was despite growing awareness of the risks of people without Covid-19 symptoms being able to spread the his seventh and likely final appearance at the inquiry drew to a close, Mr Hancock admitted his overstretched department was "unbelievably busy, responding to the biggest civil emergency in 100 years".In sometimes tense exchanges, he fielded questions from Kate Beattie representing disabled people's organisations and Pete Weatherby, barrister for Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Weatherby asked whether Mr Hancock had used the lack of "levers" available to him to act on Covid at the start of the pandemic as "an excuse for things when they went wrong"."This is a very easy thing to say with hindsight," Mr Hancock responded."The reality of the situation is that I had to act with the tools that I had and that's what I did, and drove the life-saving effort to make sure things weren't even worse than they were."Elsewhere, in response to wide-ranging questioning, Mr Hancock described the concept of blanket 'do not attempt resuscitation' orders as "abhorrent".He said he only saw this happen once "and we jumped on it".If that policy was more widespread, he said: "It did not come to my attention and, if it did happen, it's totally unacceptable."Mr Hancock said the social care sector "was badly in need of and remains badly in need of reform", adding that in the event of another pandemic, he feared the situation had become "worse not better".Lawyer Nicola Brook said Mr Hancock knew at the time that many care homes did not have the ability to isolate people who would be discharged from hospital, and that Covid was airborne."It's frankly ridiculous and insulting that he says they tried to throw a protective ring around care homes when his department's policies caused Covid to spread like wildfire amongst society's most vulnerable loved ones," she said.
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Matt Hancock admits 'protective ring' around care homes was 'impossible' during fiery exchange at Covid inquiry
Covid-era health secretary Matt Hancock defended claims he 'tried to put a protective ring around care homes', but admitted it was an 'impossible' task. The former politician hit back at the suggestion not enough was done to keep elderly and vulnerable residents and care staff safe as infections spiralled out of control. Mr Hancock was robust - and told off for interrupting Covid-19 Inquiry chairman Lady Heather Hallett for interupting her - as he responded to questions posed to him by lawyers during often-tetchy exchanges. The inquiry in London today heard there was a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for care homes, and that Covid patients were discharged from hospital without being tested or isolated upon arrival. The sector suffered from a lack of staff, who were permitted to work at multiple care homes potentially increasing the risk of introducing infection, the inquiry heard. But Mr Hancock said he and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) 'were trying to do everything we could'. Jacqueline Carey KC, counsel to the inquiry, asked: 'I am just trying to understand … what was the protection for the care homes, Mr Hancock?' Mr Hancock replied: 'The question we faced was: what was the best policy?' Former health secretary Matt Hancock refused to back down over a series of decisions made relating to care homes while in government during the pandemic Ms Carey shot back: 'That's not what I asked you.' But the combative witness, appearing before the Covid-19 Inquiry for the seventh time since it started two years ago, replied: 'It may not be what was asked but it was what was valid at the time. 'The protection at the time was clearly not as much as we would have liked. But the alternatives were even worse.' Mr Hancock was asked about a Downing Street press conference he gave in May 2020 when he described how he 'tried to throw a protective ring around our care homes'. He told the inquiry: 'I would stress, in that piece of rhetoric, that what I said is that we 'tried'. 'It was not possible to protect as much as I would have wanted.' Mr Hancock said his decision-making 'ruffled feathers', and was prevented from taking certain action in the early days of the pandemic due to being blocked by Public Health England and Downing Street. Previous sections of the inquiry heard about dysfunction at the heart of Government, often involving firebrand former Downing Street aide Dominic Cummings. Mr Hancock briefly acknowledged tensions between departments and personnel during his evidence, and reminded the inquiry he also fell ill with coronavirus in early 2020. He said: 'All of these things needed fixing and one by one we did everything we could to fix them. 'Remember at the time I also had Dominic Cummings and a load of people also causing all sorts of problems for me. And I had Covid.' He added: 'Sure I ruffled feathers in getting stuff done, and people have had a go at me over it - but I've been through everything that we did as a department, a big team effort, and we were all pulling as hard as we possibly could to save lives. 'That what I meant by saying that we 'tried to throw a protective ring around it'. 'Of course it wasn't perfect, it was impossible.' Nicola Brook, a solicitor representing more than 7,000 families from Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK, said Mr Hancock's claim that the discharge policy had been the least-worst decision available was 'an insult to the memory of each and every person who died'. This latest phase of the inquiry, focusing on the care sector, previously heard from a civil servant seconded to Mr Hancock's department who said government failures led to a 'generational slaughter' of the elderly and vulnerable. More than 43,000 people died with Covid in care homes across the UK between March 2020 and July 2022. Mr Hancock resigned as Health Secretary in summer 2021 after it emerged he kissed close aide Gina Coladangelo in his office, breaking social distancing rules he helped create. He sat as an independent MP after losing the Tory party whip in November 2022 for appearing on ITV's I'm A Celebrity reality TV show. He stood down as an MP altogether at last year's General Election. In his memoirs, the Pandemic Diaries, Mr Hancock described himself as being 'in the hotseat' from the moment the first cases began in Wuhan. He said: 'It was the most important thing I have done in my life and I gave it my all. 'For the best part of 18 months, I spent almost every waking hour managing our response, alongside the many amazing healthcare professionals, carers, public servants and other key workers who did so much to save lives and keep the country going. 'All I can say is that I did everything I could.' He first gave evidence to the inquiry in June 2023, when he apologised to the bereaved and admitted the UK's strategy for dealing with a pandemic was 'woefully inadequate'. But grieving families accused Mr Hancock of being 'disingenuous' and refusing to take 'any responsibility'. The inquiry has previously focused on topics including Government decision-making, vaccines and procurement since evidential hearings began in 2023. There are at least four further modules to come before the inquiry makes its final conclusions in 2027, at an estimated cost of more than £220 million to the taxpayer. This would make it the most expensive inquiry in British history.
Daily Mirror
11 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Matt Hancock's laughable pandemic excuse resurfaces as Covid 'lies' are exposed
Matt Hancock 's shocking text messages paint a stark picture of how he really viewed the care home patients he claims to have 'protected' during the pandemic. In a bad-tempered exchange at the Covid Inquiry today, the former Health Secretary struggled to justify his earlier claim that he'd put a "protective ring" around care homes - instead saying he "tried". Text exchanges between Hancock and the former Care Minister Helen Whately were also revealed as he lashed out at local authorities. In texts from April 2020, shortly after the UK was plunged into strict lockdown measures, Whately warned Hancock that care home death figures were "not good". He simply replied: "OK". In what has been termed "generational slaughter" by grieving families, 43,000 deaths related to Coronavirus were recorded between March 2020 and July 2022. Back in March 2020, Hancock, then one of the most visible faces of the government's response to the pandemic, insisted that a "protective ring" had been placed around care homes. However, residents were neither tested for infection nor isolated after being discharged from the hospital. The inquiry has since heard that on March 17 2020, hospitals were ordered to prioritise getting people out of wards, with Hancock asserting that he'd picked the "least bad" option when faced with an "impossible choice". Those who tuned into the 46-year-old's controversial 2022 stint in the I'm A Celebrity jungle will know all too well just how much his pandemic defence has changed since the show. As he sat beside the I'm A Celebrity campfire in November 2022, emotions were still raw among viewers and campmates alike, and it wasn't long before the stars addressed the "elephant in the room" - his handling of the pandemic. Hancock defended his stint in the senior job, including the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) which left some medical staff forced to improvise with bin bags in the early days. When pressed about the topic of care homes, he replied: "So with PPE for instance, you know, I know, of course, I saw what happened to it. But that's because we suddenly needed masses more PPE, and so did everybody else in the world. "And care homes, there's reasons for the decisions that were taken, and ultimately, those problems were caused by the virus, not the people who were trying to solve the problem." As Hancock opened up to his fellow celebs, he presented a picture of a well-meaning politician faced with insurmountable odds. However, his tone soon changed at the Covid inquiry. Today, Hancock hit out at local authorities and Public Health England, pointing the finger of blame elsewhere. Losing his cool, Hancock snapped: "You don't have to tell me how great the challenges were. There wasn't enough testing, there wasn't enough PPE. The public health authorities had the wrong attitude and the wrong doctrine. All of these things needed fixing, and one by one, we did everything we could to fix them." When quizzed about the messages exchanged between himself and Whately, Hancock lashed out, telling the inquiry that local authorities oversaw the planning of the impact of a pandemic on care homes, in a significant shifting of fault. He also claimed to have been 'horrified' after seeing the plans that had been put in place. Hancock said: "It was a really shocking moment. It didn't take long to work out they were wholly inadequate." The shamed former MP sparked widespread anger across the UK for his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. His time in office will likely be forever immortalised in CCTV images of him passionately kissing adviser Gina Coladangelo, in a flagrant flouting of social distancing rules he himself had handed down. The then-married father-of-three stepped down amid ridicule in what was a mortifying moment for the Conservative Party and a grim precursor to the outrageous revelations of partygate. It was undeniably an insult to those who had isolated themselves throughout the shared public ordeal, whether through care for others or fear of harsh repercussions. Back in 2021, former No. 10 aide Dominic Cummings told MPs: "I think that the Secretary of State for Health should have been fired for at least 15-20 things, including lying to everybody on multiple occasions in meeting after meeting in the cabinet room and publicly." Discussing whether he believed Hancock should face corporate manslaughter charges for his part in the PPE "disaster", Cummings continued: "I don't know about that because I don't know what the laws are… but I think that there is no doubt that many senior people were just terrible… many senior people performed far far disastrously below the standards the country has a right to expect. "I think the Secretary of State for Health is certainly one of those people. I said repeatedly to the Prime Minister that he should be fired. So did the Cabinet Secretary, so did many other senior people.' It remains to be seen which narrative will go down in history. However, it's undeniable that we are seeing a very different Hancock from the repentant lovelorn everyman presented to us on I'm A Celebrity.
BBC News
12 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
What is the UK Covid inquiry and how does it work?
The Covid inquiry is taking evidence from politicians, health experts and bereaved families about the impact of the pandemic on the social care system across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern July 2024, the inquiry's first report said the UK's flawed preparations had led to more deaths and greater economic damage than there should have under 227,000 people died in the UK from Covid between March 2020 and May 2023, when the World Health Organization said the "global health emergency" was inquiry hears of care home 'slaughter' What is the Covid public inquiry and when did it start? The Covid inquiry was launched by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in June 2022, more than a year after he said the government's actions during the pandemic would be put "under the microscope".The announcement came after the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice campaign said it was considering launching a judicial review over what it called government "time-wasting".Johnson said the inquiry would cover decision-making by the UK government, as well as the administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern first public hearings took place in London in June 2023. Subsequent hearings have been held in Edinburgh, Cardiff and inquiries are established and funded by the government and are led by an independent chair. They can compel witnesses to give is found guilty or innocent, but the inquiry publishes conclusions and recommendations, which the government is not obliged to inquiry: The UK pandemic in numbers Who is leading the Covid inquiry? The inquiry is chaired by former judge and crossbench peer Baroness Hallett, who previously led the inquests into the 7 July London said that loss and suffering would be at the heart of the inquiry, and that it would be "firmly independent". Baroness Hallett said the inquiry would examine how decisions on limiting the spread of Covid were made and communicated; the use of lockdowns and face coverings; and the impact on children, health and care sector workers, and the clinically effect on bereaved families, and how the findings could be applied to other national emergencies would also be considered, she said. Loss and suffering at heart of Covid inquiry What is the inquiry looking at? The inquiry is split into different on the first module, resilience and preparedness, has finished, but the inquiry is actively investigating several other aspects of Covid:decision-making and political governance in Westminster, Scotland, Wales and Northern Irelandthe impact on healthcare systems across the UKvaccines, therapeutics and anti-viral treatmentgovernment procurement and PPEthe care sectortest-and-tracethe impact on children and young peoplethe government's business and financial responsesthe impact on societyThere is no specific timescale for how long the inquiry will last. However, the final public hearings will begin in February 2026. Scotland is holding a separate inquiry into the pandemic. What did the Covid inquiry's first report say? Several reports are expected, covering everything from political decision-making to first of these was published in July 2024, and in it Baroness Hallett said the UK had been "ill-prepared for dealing with a catastrophic emergency, let alone the coronavirus pandemic"."Never again can a disease be allowed to lead to so many deaths and so much suffering," she 217-page report argued the UK planned for the wrong pandemic - a mild one where spread of a new virus was inevitable - and this led to the "untested" policy of said the UK government and devolved nations "failed their citizens", and that ministers did not sufficiently challenge scientific made a series of recommendations for reforming the way the government approaches emergency planning across the four nations of the Hallett said she wanted these to be acted on quickly, with changes in place within six months or a year. Who has given evidence to the inquiry? The inquiry has heard from hundreds of witnesses. They include current and former politicians, civil servants, government advisers, public health experts and representatives of bereaved were extremely critical of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was in No 10 throughout the began his two-day evidence session in December 2023 by apologising for the "pain and the loss and the suffering" experienced during the pandemic. Johnson admitted mistakes were made and that "there were unquestionably things we should have done differently", but insisted that ministers had done their "level best" in difficult takeaways from Boris Johnson's Covid inquiry evidenceFormer Prime Minister Rishi Sunak gave evidence about his role as chancellor during also apologised to "all those who suffered... as a result of the actions that were taken", but denied his Eat Out to Help Out Scheme had increased infections and deaths. The government's chief medical officer, Prof Sir Chris Whitty, and former chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, previously told the inquiry that they had not been consulted about the Sunak's Eat Out scheme help to spread Covid?Sir Patrick, Sir Chris and his former deputy Prof Sir Jonathan Van-Tam also said they had received substantial abuse from the public while carrying out their roles. Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock has given evidence several told the inquiry that the UK's pandemic strategy had been completely wrong, and later denied that he lied to colleagues, while admitting the UK should have locked down much also criticised the "toxic culture" in government, for which he blamed Johnson's former adviser Dominic his evidence to the inquiry, Mr Cummings described a "dysfunctional" government and was very critical of Johnson's approach. The hearing also discussed scathing text messages he sent, many of which contained offensive descriptions of ministers and Cummings said he regretted the handling of his infamous trip to Barnard Castle during the first lockdown, but denied that he had damaged public trust in the inquiry WhatsApps paint picture of chaosHow inquiry is exposing deep flaws in Covid decision-makingThe inquiry also heard from Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish political leaders, including:former Scottish First Ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousafformer Welsh First Minister Mark Drakefordcurrent Northern Irish First Minister Michelle O'Neill and former First Minister Baroness Foster How can the public get involved in the Covid inquiry? Groups representing bereaved families have urged the inquiry to ensure their voices are could share their experience through the Every Story Matters project, which had gathered more than 47,000 personal accounts of Covid when it closed for submissions in May 2025. Members of the public can apply to attend public hearings in hearings are also streamed on the BBC News website and the inquiry's YouTube addition, witness transcripts are published on the inquiry website.
