This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jun/27/matt-hancock-says-he-is-profoundly-sorry-for-covid-readiness-failings-inquiry

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Matt Hancock ‘profoundly sorry’ for Covid readiness failings Matt Hancock ‘profoundly sorry’ for Covid readiness failings
(about 4 hours later)
Former health secretary tells inquiry he did not properly challenge assurances that plans were sufficientFormer health secretary tells inquiry he did not properly challenge assurances that plans were sufficient
Matt Hancock has said he is “profoundly sorry” for his part in mistakes that ensured the UK was not properly prepared for Covid, telling the public inquiry into the pandemic that he had not properly challenged assurances that sufficient planning was in place.Matt Hancock has said he is “profoundly sorry” for his part in mistakes that ensured the UK was not properly prepared for Covid, telling the public inquiry into the pandemic that he had not properly challenged assurances that sufficient planning was in place.
Echoing the view of several earlier witnesses, Hancock, who was health secretary before the outbreak and at its height, said the UK had made a “huge error” in assuming a pandemic would be flu-based and could not be prevented from spreading.Echoing the view of several earlier witnesses, Hancock, who was health secretary before the outbreak and at its height, said the UK had made a “huge error” in assuming a pandemic would be flu-based and could not be prevented from spreading.
Asked if preparations for a pandemic had been hugely inadequate, Hancock agreed. Hugo Keith KC, the lead counsel for the inquiry, asked if he “bore ministerial responsibility for that calamitous state of affairs”.Asked if preparations for a pandemic had been hugely inadequate, Hancock agreed. Hugo Keith KC, the lead counsel for the inquiry, asked if he “bore ministerial responsibility for that calamitous state of affairs”.
Hancock replied: “I bear responsibility for all the things that happened, not only in my department, but also the agencies that reported to me as secretary of state.”Hancock replied: “I bear responsibility for all the things that happened, not only in my department, but also the agencies that reported to me as secretary of state.”
While the UK had been mistaken in planning for a flu-based illness, Hancock said, the central error had been the assumption that it would not be possible to stop a pandemic.While the UK had been mistaken in planning for a flu-based illness, Hancock said, the central error had been the assumption that it would not be possible to stop a pandemic.
“The doctrine of the UK was to plan for the consequences of a disaster,” Hancock said. “Can we buy enough body bags? Where are we going to bury the dead? And that was completely wrong. Of course, it’s important to have that in case you failed to stop a pandemic. But central to pandemic planning needs to be how do you stop that disaster from happening in the first place? How do you suppress the virus?” “The doctrine of the UK was to plan for the consequences of a disaster,” Hancock said. “Can we buy enough body bags? Where are we going to bury the dead? And that was completely wrong.”
This was, Hancock said, “at the centre of the failure of preparation”. He added: “All of the other considerations are important but small compared to the colossal scale of failure in the assumption.” “All of the other considerations are important but small compared to the colossal scale of failure in the assumption,” he said.
His evidence infuriated Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, which said he had “hid behind” this admission and declined to focus on failures, such as the focus on influenza pandemics only, the diversion of resources to a no-deal Brexit, and the failure of his department to implement recommendations from exercises.
“For the bereaved, it has been shocking to hear that the person with overall responsibility for the health of the nation was asleep at the wheel,” said the group’s lawyer Elkan Abrahamson.
Keith challenged Hancock as to why in the 18 months he served as health secretary before Covid he did not seek to change this, given he said he had worries about areas including vaccines and testing.Keith challenged Hancock as to why in the 18 months he served as health secretary before Covid he did not seek to change this, given he said he had worries about areas including vaccines and testing.
“Because I was assured that the UK planning was among the best and in some instances the best in the world,” Hancock said. “Of course, with hindsight, I wish I’d spent that short period of time as health secretary before the pandemic struck changing the entire attitude to how we respond to a pandemic.” “Because I was assured that the UK planning was among the best and in some instances the best in the world,” Hancock said, citing the “reassuring” assessment of the World Health Organization that the UK’s pandemic preparedness was excellent. “Of course, with hindsight, I wish I’d spent that short period of time as health secretary before the pandemic struck changing the entire attitude to how we respond to a pandemic.”
There had been, Hancock went on, a “huge error in the doctrine” before Covid. Sounding emotional, he added: “If I may say so, I am profoundly sorry, for the impact that had, I’m profoundly sorry for each death that has occurred. And I also understand why, for some, it will be hard to take that apology from me. There had been, Hancock went on, a “huge error in the doctrine” before Covid. Sounding emotional, he added: “If I may say so, I am profoundly sorry, for the impact that had, I’m profoundly sorry for each death that has occurred. And I also understand why, for some, it will be hard to take that apology from me”.
“I understand that, I get it. But it is honest and heartfelt. And I’m not very good at talking about my emotions on how I feel. But that is honest and true. And all I can do is ensure that this inquiry gets to the bottom of it, and that for the future we learn the right lessons, so that we stop a pandemic in its tracks much, much earlier.” Hancock also agreed that quite a lot of pandemic planning had been suspended as ministers focused on the possible impact of a no-deal Brexit. But he argued that some of that work proved useful , for example, efforts to shore up medicine supply chains: “The work done for a no-deal Brexit on supply chains for medicines was the difference between running out of medicines in the peak of the pandemic and not running out.
“We came extremely close, within hours, of running out of medicines for intensive care during the pandemic. It wasn’t widely reported at the time.”
Duncan Selbie, chief executive of Public Health England from July 2012 to August 2020, was later asked about Hancock’s view that a key flaw in the UK pandemic strategy was the assumption outbreaks could not be stopped from developing at a large scale.
Sign up to First EditionSign up to First Edition
Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you through the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morningArchie Bland and Nimo Omer take you through the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning
after newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotion
Hancock said that while he had concerns over a lack of UK capacity to manufacture vaccines and the inability to scale up testing, he had been told that outside bodies, including the World Health Organization, had said the UK’s pandemic preparedness was excellent overall. “It was entirely sensible for the country to have an influenza pandemic plan,” he said. “Even if that’s not what we then faced, it would have been negligent not to have had such a plan.”
“You can understand that when you’re assured by the leading global authority that the UK is the best prepared in the world, that is quite a significant reassurance,” he said. “That turned out to be wrong.” He agreed it was a flaw the plan only dealt with influenza.
Under close questioning from Keith, Hancock accepted that he did not appear to have attended any meetings of the national security committee that focused on threats, hazards, resilience and contingencies before Covid. Giving evidence via video link from Saudi Arabia where he is now chief adviser of the kingdom’s public health authority, Selbie also admitted social care settings such as care homes, where over 40,000 people died with Covid on their death certificate in England, were “just not on our radar”. And he attacked ministers’ “depressing” cuts to the public health budget in the years before Covid.
He also agreed that quite a lot of pandemic planning had been suspended as ministers focused on the possible impact of a no-deal Brexit. But he argued that some of that work proved useful in the pandemic, for example efforts to shore up medicine supply chains: “The work done for a no-deal Brexit on supply chains for medicines was the difference between running out of medicines in the peak of the pandemic and not running out. He said Jeremy Hunt, when health secretary in 2015, wanted to cut 50% from PHE’s budget to fund the NHS. In the event there was a 14% real terms cut in the public health grant from 2015 to 2021. The effect was that PHE’s ability to tackle health inequality was “taken away”.
“We came extremely close, within hours, of running out of medicines for intensive care during the pandemic. It wasn’t widely reported at the time.” He said PHE was not funded for pandemic readiness and response. The “big gap was mass testing” and it was not envisaged in the flu plan that mass contact tracing would be needed.
He accepted accountability for not updating the PHE’s flu plan for six years before the pandemic, which left it out of date.
He also admitted the agency had failed in its mission to reduce health inequalities before the pandemic, which the inquiry has already heard led to more deaths in some areas.
The inquiry continues.