The former Conservative MP
Matt Hancock was the UK's Secretary of State for Health and Social Care 2019-21 and thus responsible for much of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As one would expect, he has been called to give evidence to the enquiry into the handling of the pandemic. Two issues have been quite controversial:
- One was awarding many valuable contracts for vitally needed supplies and equipment to Conservative Party members with no obvious capability to fulfil them, without and transparency. That piece of corruption will be held against the Conservative Party for a very long time. He wasn't responsible for all of that: the entire Cabinet were involved.
- The other was the decision to discharge many hospital patients into care homes for the elderly without testing them for COVID-19. That was his decision, and it resulted in the residents of those care homes being placed at very high risk of infection. And being elderly and frail enough to require care home residence, a great many of them died.
This week at the enquiry, he was questioned by lawyers for a bereaved families group. It rapidly became clear that his claim of protective measures for the care home residents was pure fiction. He claimed that nobody cared, apart from campaign groups.
That's a degree of selfishness fully consistent with his decision to use social distancing to undertake an extra-marital affair with one of his senior staff. That forced him to resign as Health Secretary, and he left parliament voluntarily at the last election. However, he's not yet been held to account for his terrible, heartless decisions while in charge of the nations' health.
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