A LAWYER was forced to apologise live on GB News after his own “mistake” led to the presenter revealing he was asked to represent Matt Hancock.
Jonathan Coad appeared on the channel on Sunday evening when host Steve N Allen introduced the lawyer as having been asked to represent the former health secretary over the leak by journalist Isabel Oakeshott.
The lawyer was quick to express his frustration and said: “I made it absolutely clear to your programme, I asked them not to disclose that.
“That is very, very poor journalism.”
Matt Hancock’s lawyer pops up on GB News, is introduced as such before having a massive rant that he explicitly said he didn’t want that mentioned. Host then pulls up the email showing he said he DID want it mentioned… he’d missed out the “not” pic.twitter.com/lqIOlCkDsi
— Calgie (@christiancalgie) March 5, 2023
Coad continued to explain that he had sent an email explaining that he did not want the fact he had been approached by Hancock to be mentioned.
“When your own television station has engaged in correspondence with me where I explained that I’m in a position to be able to comment on this and mentioned I’d been approached by Matt Hancock – I asked you not to mention that and you mentioned it.
“If anybody is tempted to take you seriously or your programme seriously here is a good reason not to.”
However, following a tense exchange between the presenter and the lawyer, Allen retrieved the email in question which had been sent to a GB News producer ahead of the interview.
Coad had missed out a vital word in his request. The email said: “As a courtesy to the lady who approached me to act for (Matt Hancock) I would be grateful if it was mentioned that he asked me to act for him (via his assistant).”
The studio audience could be heard laughing in the background as the message was read out and Coad replied: “You’re absolutely right, it’s my mistake I missed out the ‘not’ – I take all of that back. My abject apologies. You’re right and I’m wrong.
“Fair dos I’m absolutely wrong about that, my apologies.”
The exchange comes after thousands of Hancock’s WhatsApp messages were shared with The Daily Telegraph by Oakeshott who co-authored the MP’s memoir the Pandemic Diaries.
The former health secretary has suggested the journalist may have broken a confidentiality agreement and that he could take legal action.
She has defended disclosing the messages in recent days, saying that sharing the messages is in the public interest.
A spokesperson for Hancock said: “As we’ve seen all week, these stories are wrong as they’re based on an entirely partial account.
“In the case of vaccines, Matt drove the goal of getting everyone vaccinated, often against resistance in the system.
“Ultimately he prevailed, thank goodness, and we got the first vaccine in the world, for everyone. Matt set all this out in his book.”
