Matt Hancock ‘wanted to frighten pants off everyone during pandemic’
Matt Hancock told aides he wanted to ‘frighten the pants off everyone’ to make sure they stuck to Covid rules, leaked messages have revealed.
The texts – which were part of around 100,000 messages leaked in the Telegraph last week – also reveal discussions over when to ‘deploy’ details of a new strain.
They show how Mr Hancock and others discussed how to use an announcement about the Kent variant of the virus to scare the public into changing their behaviour.
The former Health Secretary last week said the leaking of the messages by journalist Isabell Oakeshott was a ‘huge betrayal of trust’.
Some messages between Cabinet Secretary Simon Case and Mr Hancock suggest that the ‘fear’ factor would be ‘vital’ in stopping the spread of the virus, in January 2021.
The leak has already revealed Rishi Sunak and Mr Hancock complaining about Dominic Cummings’ ‘nightmare’ tenure in Downing Street.
It has also shown Mr Hancock’s repeated concerns that Sunak’s signature Eat Out To Help Out initiative was contributing to the spread of Covid-19.
The latest messages show the approach taken by Mr Hancock and others to Government communication at various stages during the pandemic.
In December 2020, the exchanges show concern that London Mayor Sadiq Khan could follow Andy Burnham, who had clashed with the Government over the decision to impose stringent lockdown restrictions on the region.
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,’ the then-health secretary 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 conversation, on December 13, came amid concerns about the rapid spread of the virus in south-east England.
Mr Hancock announced that a new Covid-19 variant had been identified in the UK the next day.
Less than a week later it was announced that London and south-east England were to enter a new Tier 4 alert level – which was also the same day when then prime minister Boris Johnson cancelled the promised Christmas ‘bubbles’ policy – which would have allowed families to meet.
The entirety of England entered the third national lockdown on January 6.
Messages from January 10 show Mr Hancock and the Cabinet Secretary discussing ways to ensure compliance.
‘More mask-wearing might be the only thing to consider.
‘Effectively free and has a very visible impact? Wear masks in all settings outside home and in more workplaces?
‘Am not sure that got us much further, did it? Basically, we need to get compliance up.’
Mr Hancock tells him, after a brief discussion on angling, that he ‘honestly wouldn’t move on any small things unless we move on a lot’.
Mr Case agrees: ‘I think that is exactly right. Small stuff looks ridiculous. Ramping up messaging – the fear/guilt factor vital.
‘I suspect London Nightingale coming into use will feel like a big public moment.
‘Especially as I guess it will be full within a couple of days (based on current data).’
Ms Oakeshott was originally given the material by Mr Hancock while they were collaborating on the memoir of his time in government during the pandemic.
In a statement this week, Mr Hancock said that all the materials for his book have been made available to the official Covid-19 inquiry.
Ms Oakeshott has said the disclosures are in the public interest.
Some of the messages also offered an insight into Boris Johnson’s thinking at various stages of the pandemic.
For instance in August 2020, he warned that government messaging was becoming ‘mangled’, referencing ‘private focus groups’.
‘Folks my private focus groups telling me our messaging now so mangled as to be totally incomprehensible.
‘We need big reset and simple themes pumped over the airwaves especially on social distancing and how many people you can have in your house etc,’ he wrote.
A spokesman for the former prime minister said: ‘It is not appropriate to comment on these leaks.
‘The public inquiry provides the right process for these issues to be examined.’
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