Covid inquiry live: Matt Hancock grilled over affair scandal in awkward exchange

Hancock appears before inquiry again after conceding government should have locked down earlier and denying claims that he is a liar

Matt Hancock questioned over resignation after affair with Gina Coladangelo

Matt Hancock has admitted his affair with aide Gina Coladangelo in breach of his own lockdown rules damaged public confidence, as he gave evidence to the Covid inquiry.

Taking the stand for a second day on Friday, the ex-health secretary suggested that “the lesson for the future is very clear” in that “it is important that those who make the rules abide by them”, adding: “I resigned in order to take accountability for my failure to do that.”

Mr Hancock also defended his decision to discharge hospital patients into care homes without testing them for Covid-19 as “rational and reasonable”, adding: “Nobody has yet brought to me a solution to this problem that I think, even with hindsight, would have resulted in more lives saved.”

The MP claimed on Thursday that a phone call he had with Boris Johnson on 28 February 2020 marked the moment government “really started to come into action”, and claimed that had his own “doctrine” been followed, the first lockdown would have come three weeks earlier – saving 90 per cent of those who died in the first wave.

Key Points

• Matt Hancock questioned over lockdown affair with aide Gina Coladangelo
• Hancock claims first lockdown should have happened three weeks earlier
• Dominic Cummings accuses Hancock of ‘flat out lying’ over lockdown claims
• Ex-health secretary blames Cummings for ‘toxic culture’ in government
• Hancock denies that he lied to colleagues about having a plan for pandemic
• What have other officials told the inquiry about Hancock?

[1 December 2023 09:32 · Matt Mathers]

NHS urges people to book ‘lifesaving’ Covid and flu vaccines before Christmas

The NHS is urging anyone still eligible for Covid and flu vaccines to book an appointment and get potentially lifesaving protection ahead of Christmas.

Booking systems will close from December 15, making December 14 the last day to make a booking, with hundreds of thousands of appointments still available each week across England.

Full report: