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Matt Hancock ‘profoundly sorry’ for Covid readiness failings Matt Hancock ‘profoundly sorry’ for Covid readiness failings
(32 minutes 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. The former health secretary, who faced tense encounters with bereaved family members before giving evidence, and after he had finished, said the UK had made a “huge error” in assuming a pandemiccould 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”. Hancock, who was health secretary for 18 months before the pandemic, and throughout most of its course, said he was “profoundly sorry for each death”, and that he took responsibility for mistakes in the preparations.
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.” “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,” he said.
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.”“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.”
“All of the other considerations are important but small compared to the colossal scale of failure in the assumption,” he said.“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. Arriving at the inquiry, Hancock was faced by protesters, including Lorelei King, who showed him pictures of her husband, Vincent Marzello, who died in a care home in March 2020.
“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. Hugo Keith KC, the lead counsel for the inquiry, asked Hancock why he did not challenge the pandemic planning assumptions, given worries he said he had over 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, 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.”“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”.
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. This explanation was greeted with anger by the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, which said Hancock had tried to evade other failures such as the focus on flu-based pandemics only and the diversion of resources to a no-deal Brexit.
“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.” “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.
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.
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“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.” Hancock had argued that while much pandemic preparation was suspended ahead of a possible no deal, this work proved useful in areas such as securing medicine supply chains.
He agreed it was a flaw the plan only dealt with influenza. “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.
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. After his evidence finished, Hancock approached the public gallery, seemingly to speak to some families there, with one relative turning their back on him.
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”. In later evidence, Duncan Selbie, chief executive of Public Health England from July 2012 to August 2020, said 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”.
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. Giving evidence via video link from Saudi Arabia where he is now chief adviser of the kingdom’s public health authority, Selbie attacked what he called “depressing” cuts to the public health budget in the years before Covid.
He accepted accountability for not updating the PHE’s flu plan for six years before the pandemic, which left it out of date. He said Jeremy Hunt, when health secretary in 2015, wanted to cut 50% from Public Health England’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.
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.The inquiry continues.