Boris Johnson is putting politics ahead of the country when it comes to Matt Hancock

Please send your letters to letters@independent.co.uk

The prime minister has said he has full confidence in Matt Hancock (Getty)

The latest chapter in the Dominic Cummings saga is interesting, not because what we learn about Matt Hancock, because anyone with an ounce of nous will have come to the same conclusion as Johnson simultaneously, if not weeks sooner. No! It is interesting because it exposes the question that most of us have been asking ever since: “Knowing that his health minister, in the worst pandemic to hit the country in a century, is useless, why has he allowed him to continue in office for a further five minutes, never mind 12 months and more?”

There is no logical answer to the question concerning efficacy in running a department of state and fighting the pandemic. Therefore I can only conclude that Johnson’s reasons are political. He has been, and is putting politics in front of the need for effective management of the fight against Covid-19. That’s how much he cares.

John E Harrison