Thread by @janemerrick23

Greg Clark confirms that despite agreeing to at his committee appearance, Dominic Cummings has not provided any evidence to back up his allegations against Matt Hancock in time for today’s hearing, nor has he provided an explanation

Hancock says “no” to question of did he say anything to PM that he knew to be untrue

Did he say people got the treatment they deserved knowing it to be untrue? Says no, he was advised at time that people were getting treatment they deserved

Hancock says it’s “not a fair recollection” that he said everything is fine on PPE in March 2020. He “can’t recall” the alleged incident that he subsequently blamed Simon Stevens and Chancellor for a block on buying PPE and that Mark Sedwill doubted his honesty

Hancock says he never blamed the Treasury for any procurement issues

On testing in care homes, MH said he said in 3/20 people would be tested when testing was available. “On care home policy throughout we followed clinical advice”. They didn’t have testing capacity and were advised (by who?) of risks of false positives

They were told the strongest route for Covid into care homes was community transmission. In terms of what he told the PM, “I make commitments to do things, I get on and do them and they are delivered”

Hancock picks up on Cummings’ use of the word “would” in terms of people in care homes would be tested. He adds “It is telling no evidence has been provided yet”

Hancock says he has approached the pandemic with “honesty and integrity” and says he had “no idea” why Cummings went for him. Says he knew the allegation the PM wanted him fired because someone briefed the newspapers. But he claims he has had PM’s support throughout

Hancock says Health Secretaries have to deal with small outbreaks of disease/viruses all the time. “I’m currently dealing with a monkey pox outbreak” ?!??!

There’s been no updates on monkey pox on the gov.uk website since 2019 so I assume this isn’t major gov.uk/guidance/monke… 🥶

Hancock says “I don’t think so” as to whether he blamed the scientists in private for their advice

A new revelation I think: Hancock said on 25 January 2020 he was told it would take five years to get a coronavirus vaccine and he demanded one within a year. Got JVT to take charge of it

Also new I believe: WHO advice at time was not to close borders because it would delay spread only by a week. Hancock says this was even if every country closed borders. He now says it’s clear if all countries take action it can make a difference

Hancock says his “reflection at the time ... was the only way the world could’ve stopped the virus getting out of China is that China itself had stopped people leaving China”

Blimey: Hancock asked DH and officials for reasonable worst case scenario planning assumption on 27 Jan 2020 and on 31 Jan it came back at Cobra, based on Spanish flu, that the planning assumption was for 800,000 deaths. “I was determined that that would not happen on my watch”

This is a new figure and it’s a far cry from the public messaging from the top of Govt throughout

Struck by Hancock’s evidence that he and Cummings are broadly aligned on something crucial: that their instincts at the start of the pandemic were to be more concerned than the scientific consensus including WHO and Sage. My halfway analysis for @theipaper inews.co.uk/news/politics/…

The question is why did both of these men, who admit to being forceful and forthright in getting their opinions heard - not challenge the consensus more robustly? Was the PM the block because he didn’t take the pandemic more seriously in Feb/early March?

Hancock has used the phrase “I’m a team player” a number of times. Not so hidden message is that naughty Dominic Cummings is NOT a team player

Hancock says he “sadly” expects another pathogen like this “in less than 100 years”