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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Archie Mitchell

Matt Hancock to defend his record as health secretary before Covid inquiry

PA Wire

Matt Hancock mocked by lawyer Hugo Keith after failing to find evidence of Boris Johnson call

Matt Hancock has been mocked by Covid inquiry lead counsel Hugo Keith KC for having a “little notebook” to refer to, after the ex-health secretary said he had used a break to uncover new evidence of a phone call between himself and Boris Johnson.

The MP claimed his phone call with Mr Johnson on 28 February 2020 was 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.

But Dominic Cummings claimed Matt Hancock was “flat out lying” to the Covid inquiry by claiming he pressed the prime minister for a lockdown on 13 March, and claimed to have “physically stopped” Mr Hancock coming to a meeting the following day because he “was bull****ting everybody about herd immunity”.

In an escalating war of words, Mr Hancock claimed to the inqury that Mr Cummings was a “malign influence” who created a toxic “culture of fear”.

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