At the height of the pandemic, then-Health Secretary Matt Hancock wanted to announce a new Covid variant to "frighten the pants off everyone", leaked WhatsApp messages have revealed.
The messages, which were leaked to the Telegraph, were sent and received by ex-Health Secretary Matt Hancock during the coronavirus crisis.
Hancock and his team were discussing the looming realisation that then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson's planned five-day Christmas amnesty would likely have to be scrapped.
Mr Johnson had promised families they would be able to see each other over the festive period but finally scrapped the plan on December 18.
Fearing an inevitable backlash from frustrated members of the public, Mr Hancock's team were brainstorming about how to divert anger.
Mr Hancock's adviser said: "Rather than doing too much forward signalling, we can roll pitch with the new strain."
"We frighten the pants of everyone with the new strain," Mr Hancock responded.
"But the complication with that Brexit is taking the top line," he said, in an apparent reference to media coverage of the UK's EU exit.
"Yep that's what will get proper behaviour change," the adviser said.
"When do we deploy the new variant," Mr Hancock said.
The solution was to declare a new strain of coronavirus, the Alpha or Kent variant.
When discussing regional lockdowns, Jamie Njoku-Goodwin, Mr Hancock’s media adviser, suggested it would not be "unhelpful" for the public to think their area could be next.
The revelations have renewed calls for an immediate public inquiry into the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A People Polling survey for GB News found 50% of the public supports an immediate inquiry, with just 13% against.
Among Labour voters, 70% want an immediate investigation compared with just 44% of Conservative voters.
Politics expert Professor Matthew Goodwin said: “Amid the Lockdown Files, we find clear strong public support for an immediate inquiry into the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Half the country, including a large majority of Labour voters, want to see this, while only a small minority are opposed.”.
The study also found 60% of people think ministers were right to order a nationwide lockdown when coronavirus hit Britain.
Just 15% said it was the wrong decision
Prof Goodwin added: “While more questions are rightly being asked about the decisions taken during the pandemic, most voters remain convinced that the lockdown was the right decision.
“About one in eight voters, a significant share, think lockdowns were the wrong decision, though clearly, they remain in a minority."
Mr Hancock has described the release of tens of thousands of his WhatsApp messages as a "massive betrayal".
In a statement this week, he apologised for the impact of the leak on his political colleagues, aides and friends - and said there was no public interest for the huge data breach.
"As we have seen, releasing them in this way gives a partial, biased account to suit an anti-lockdown agenda," he said.
